Improvements in Cranes, Especially Applicable for use in Mills.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cranes, Especially Applicable for use in Mills.
We GEORGE FAIRLAMB MCCLEANE of Allegheny City in the County of Allegheny
and State of Pennsylvania Iron Manufacturer and WILLIAM MEYRLEY FABER of
Pittsburgh in the County of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania Iron Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
Fig. 1 is a plan view of our improved crane and metal supporting device or
gripper.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, the lower part of the mast of the crane being
shown in vertical section.
Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section of the lower part of the crane mast including
the cylinder and plunger and showing the valves in side elevation.
Fig. 4 is a similar view of the top of the mast.
Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the outer part of the jib and the metal supporting
device or grippers.
Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line VI VI of Fig. 5.
Figs. 7 and 8 are plan views of the metal supporting device or grippers, showing
the jaws open and closed respectively.
Fig. 9 is an enlarged perspective view thereof, showing it in the act of gripping &
supporting a metal piece or pile.
Like symbols of reference indicate like parts in each.
The parts of the apparatus shown in the drawings to which our invention relates
are the following:-First the arrangement of the water connections at the base of the
mast of the crane; second, the grippers or metal supporting device; third the
manner of its support from the jib and the means by which the thrust occasioned by
the gravity of its burden is taken up by the jib, and fourth the arrangement and
location of the cylinder by which the buggy of the peel is moved on the jib.
The purpose to which we have especially designed our improvement is for use as
means for charging metal piles or pieces into beating-furnaces and withdrawing them
therefrom, and we shall so describe it premising however that the invention is not
limited thereto but is intended to cover generally the use of the apparatus for any
purpose to which it may be applicable.
Referring now to the drawings, 2 represents the mast of the crane, which is or
may be composed of metal beams secured at their upper ends to a block or casting 3,
which forms the top journal, and at the base secured to the usual upright cylinder 4
and to the block or casting 5, which forms the bottom journal.
The contracted portion or journal proper at the end of the casting 5 has bearings in
a plate 7 and in the base of a box 6 within which said plate is set, the weight of the
crane being supported by anti-friction rollers S, interposed between the bottom of the
casting and the surface of the plate. These rollers are preferably conical in form, and
the opposing faces of the casting and plate are correspondingly beveled. The mast

page_text: is rotated by means of a rack 36, which is moved longitudinally by the plunger of an
hydraulic cylinder 37, and which meshes with the teeth of a spur wheel 371, fixed to
the journal-block 5. This cylinder is controlled by a valve 38 which is connected
with an accumulator or pump 39, and is also connected by branch pipes 40 with the
ends of the cylinder.
The base of the cylinder 4 is somewhat separated vertically from the surface of
the bottom journal, so as to afford an intermediate space to permit easy adjustment
and coupling of the water pipes. One of these pipes 9 (the supply pipe) extends
vertically from a stuffing box 10 beneath the bottom of the journal, through said
journal and thence to the valves 11, 12, 13 which are supported on a suitable platform 1.4
attached to the mast.
The exhaust pipe 19 extends from a stuffing box 18 in the top journal of the mast,
and is connected by a passage leading through the journal-block to a pipe 191, which
by suitable branched connections communicates with the exhaust ports of said valves.
From the valve 11 a pipe 11' leads to the base of the cylinder.
15 is the plunger of the cylinder and 16 is the crane jib which is affixed to a
block 17 at the top of the plunger so that it shall be moved vertically with the latter.
The jib is steadied in its vertical motions by a strut 20 and suitably arranged
wheels 21, bearing against the beams which form the crane mast.
22 is the trolley which upholds the metal supporting device or peel. It is mounted
on wheels, on the beams of which the jib is constituted and is connected by a rod 23
with the plunger of a hydraulic cylinder 24. The jib extends to both sides of the
mast, the trolley being on one side, and the cylinder on the other, so that the weight
of the latter shall serve partially to counterbalance the jib. Water supply
pipes 25 extend from the valve 13 to both ends of the cylinder 24 and are provided
with jointed or flexible connections 26, to permit the variations in-distance between
the cylinder and the valve caused by the vertical motions of the jib. By proper
operations of the valve 13 water may be admitted to either end of the cylinder 24
and the plunger and trolley moved longitudinally on the jib in either direction.
The stirrup or buggy by which the grippers or metal support upheld consists
of metal frames or plates 27 which extend vertically from the trolley between the
beams of the jib and are connected at the lower onds. A bar 28 is carried by
and bolted to the stirrup thus formed, at the front end projecting considerably
beyond the stirrup and at the rear extending upwardly to the jib, and being
provided with an antifriction roller or wheel 29 which bears against the under sido
of the latter.
30, 30 are the jaws of the tongs which form the grippers or metal support.
These jaws are formed with horizontal portions pivoted at 31 to the bar 28 and
with vertical portions which extend downwardly at the sides of the bar, and at
their lower ends are provided with inwardly turned lips c.
The rear ends of the jaws 30 are connected by knee levers 32 to a rod 33 which
is fixed to the plunger of a hydraulic cylinder 34, the latter being mounted on
the bar 28 between the stirrups 27 and being connected by jointed or flexible pipes 35
to the valve 12, so that by proper operation of the valve the said rod may be
projected or retracted and the parts 6 of the jaws 30, caused to approach or to diverge.
The general operation of the device in charging and withdrawing metal is similar
to that of the charging cranes now employed. In the use of the apparatus the
grippers or metal support may be introduced into the door of a furnace by turning
the crane mast so as to direct the crane jib towards the furnace and then projecting
the buggy and peel by means of the cylinder 24. To grasp a metal piece or pile, the
jaws 30 are opened by means of the cylinder 34, the jib is lowered so as to bring the
parts of the jaws at the opposite sides of the metal, and then the jaws are closed
against the metal, the lips c passing beneath the same and supporting it. To permit
the easy passage of these lips under the metal, the surfaces of the lips are preferably
beveled as shown in Fig. 9. This construction of the apparatus is of material import-
ance, because it affords a substantial support to the metal, and thus enables the device
to be used in lifting metal piles composed of a number of pieces loosely bound together

page_text: without danger of disarranging or separating them.
If the jaws should not grasp the
metal exactly at the middle, the metal will be restrained by the top bar 28 from
tipping and upsetting. The action of the apparatus in this regard is shown in Fig. 9,
in which the metal piece is grasped on a line off the middle. When the metal is thus
grasped it may be lifted by raising the jib of the crane and then conveyed to any
place within the sweep of the crane by turning the latter or moving the trolley along
the jib. When carried to the proper place, the piece is released by reversing the
cylinder 34, and thus opening the gripper jaws. For the purpose of enabling the
grippers to operate successfully in lifting metal from or depositing it on the usual
inclined hearth of a heating furnace we prefer to make the bar 28 somewhat down-
wardly-inclined, as shown in the drawings.
When the metal is supported, the position of the weight at the end of the bar 28
will tend to tip the buggy and trolley but the bearing of the bar on the underside
of the jib takes up the thrust thus occasioned and prevents the parts from tipping,
while the wheel at the end of the bar prevents the friction on the jib from impeding
the longitudinal travel of the trolley and buggy.
The advantages of our invention will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
The construction of the parts may be varied in divers ways without departing from
the invention as covered in the following claims each one of which relates to a
distinct item of the invention, covering parts which may be used in other combina-
tions. For example the grippers claimed herein may be used on cranes or charging
apparatus of different pattern, and the other parts of the apparatus to which claim is
made may be used with grippers or supporting devices of quite different construction
from that herein described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
:-
1. The combination with the jib, of a travelling buggy upheld thereby, a supporting
device at one end thereof and a brace or bar at the other end having a bearing
against the underside of the jib, substantially as and for the purposes described.
2. The combination with the jib of a travelling buggy upheld thereby, a supporting
device at one end thereof, a brace or bar at the other end having a bearing against
the underside of the jib, and a wheel or roller at said bearing substantially as and
for the purposes described.
3. The metal support or grippers consisting of jaws for grasping and upholding
the metal, and an overlying top or bar to prevent tipping of the latter substantially
as and for the purposes described.
4. In a metal support or grippers, jaws having downwardly extending portions
with projecting lips to fit under and engage the metal at opposite sides, and to support
it, substantially as and for the purposes described.
5. The metal support or grippers consisting of jaws for grasping and upholding
the metal, said jaws having downwardly-extending portions with lips to engage the
metal at the bottom and to support it, and an overlying top or bar to which the jaws
are pivoted, substantially as and for the purposes described.
6. The combination of the jib, a trolley, a stirrup or buggy, depending from said
trolley, a bar projecting from said stirrup or buggy, jaws carried by the bar, and a
cylinder carried by the stirrup or buggy and adapted to operate said jaws, sub-
stantially as and for the purposes described.
7. The combination of the jib, a trolley, a stirrup or buggy depending from said
trolley, a bar projecting from said stirrup or buggy, and having a bearing at the rear
against the underside of the jib, jaws carried by the bar, and a cylinder carried by
the stirrup or buggy and adapted to operate said jaws substantially as and for the
purposes described.
8. The combination of the mast, a jib projecting to both sides thereof, a trolley on
the jib on one side of the mast, and a cylinder on the jib on the other side of the mast
for moving said trolley, substantially as and for the purposes described.

page_text: 9. The combination of the mast, a bottom journal-block and a cylinder 4, said
cylinder being somewhat elevated substantially as and for the purposes described.
10. The combination of a longitudinally-movable buggy or frame and a down-
wardly-inclined projecting bar carrying a metal support or grippers, substantially as
and for the purposes described.
Per pro J. T. KING,
*J. Johnson,
Agent.