IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GRIPPING AND LIFTING INGOTS OR BLOOMS AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1884

page_text: We, JOSEPH Cook, Steel Worker, and DANIEL ATKINSON, Forger, both of
707 Duke Street Glasgow, in the county of Lanark do hereby declare the nature
of our said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GRIPPING AND
LIFTING INGOTS OR BLOOMS AND OTHER ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
66
In raising hot iron or steel ingots from the soaking pits or ingot moulds and in
transferring hot blooms or bars of considerable weight from the heating furnaces
to the rolling mills or hammers, it is usual to employ a pair of gripping tongs hung
from a crane, and technically known as a dog.' The gripping limbs or members
of the dog require to be placed over the ingot or bloom by hand, in such a
position as to ensure a proper grip when the metal is raised by the crane; and
during the operation of fixing the dog, the attendant is exposed to the excessive
beat radiating from the hot metal.
The object of our invention is to provide improved devices whereby ingots or
blooms may be gripped and raised while the attendant operates such devices from
a point at a convenient distance from the hot metal. The improved devices
comprise a novel arrangement of gripping dog which differs from the ordinary
form in having jointed at or near the end of each limb, a small pointed catch
which is free to oscillate on its centre or drop inwards to a position at any angle
to the limb, but preferably less than at right angles. A long rod or bar is hooked,
jointed, or otherwise loosely or rigidly connected to the dog, and this rod is held
at its outer end by the attendant, who, by means of it, guides the dog to a position
over the ingot or bloom so that when the dog is lowered the limbs open out (the
opening movement being also, if need be, facilitated by fitting small rollers at the
ends of the limbs) while the catches lie over the metal, until they extend beyond
the edges or sides of the ingot when the catches fall. The dog is then raised by
the crane, when the catches will grip the metal, the point of gripping being guided
by the hand rod.
To ensure the opening out of the limbs of the dog or gripping tongs, we prefer to
employ, in lieu of the hand rod above mentioned, a pair of long but light tongs, the
inner ends of which are hooked or otherwise connected above the joint to the
upward extensions of the limbs of the dog. These long tongs are operated by the

page_text: attendant to open or close the limbs of the dog and to ensure the gripping of the
ingot at a suitable position.
When the attendant requires to operate the dog
from the point at a considerable distance off, we use a pair of "lazy tongs
instead of the plain tongs.
The arrangement of long plain tongs or lazy tongs may also be fitted in com-
bination with the ordinary form of dog, the inner ends of the tongs being attached
to the upper ends of the limbs of the gripping dog.
The mode which we prefer to employ for connecting the dog and tongs, is to
form hooks on the inner ends of the tongs to engage with eyes formed on the
pins by which the dog is suspended.
The improved apparatus described may also be employed for gripping and lifting
logs of wood, bales, and other articles,

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
We JOSEPH COOK, Steel Worker and DANIEL ATKINSON, Forger, both of
707 Duke Street Glasgow in the county of Lanark do hereby declare the nature
of our invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GRIPPING AND LIFTING
INGOTS OR BLOOMS AND OTHER ARTICLES" and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
In raising hot iron or steel ingots from the soaking pits or ingot moulds and in
transferring hot blooms or bars of considerable weight from the heating furnaces to
the rolling mills or hammers it is usual to employ a pair of gripping tongs hung
from a crane and technically known as a "dog." The gripping limbs or members
of the dog require to be placed over the ingot or bloom by hand in such a position
as to ensure a proper grip when the metal is raised by the crano, and during the
operation of fixing the dog the attendant is exposed to the excessive heat radiating
from the hot metal.
The object of our invention is to provide improved devices whereby ingots or
blooms may be gripped and raised while the attendant operate such devices from
a point at a convenient distance from the hot metal. The improved devices
comprise a novel arrangement of gripping dog which is illustrated in front and sido
elevation in figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings and which differs from
the ordinary form in having jointed at or near the end of each limb A, A, a small
pointed catch B which is free to oscillate on its centro b within a slot in the limb
and drop inwards to a position at any angle to the limb but preferably less than
at right angles, the further movement of the catches being provented by the heels
of the catches bearing on the metal of the limbs. A long rod or bar such as is
shown in figure 5 may be hooked jointed or otherwise loosely or rigidly connected
to the dog at the joint pin a or other point and this rod is held at its outer end
by the attendant who by means of it guides the dog to a position over the ingot
or bloom so that when the dog is lowered the limbs A. A. open out, the opening
movement being also if need be facilitated by fitting small rollers C at the
ends of the limbs while the catches B B lie over the metal until they extend
beyond the edges or sides of the ingot when the catches fall. The dog is then
raised by the crane when the catches B will grip the metal, the point of gripping
being guided by the hand rod.
To ensure the opening out of the limbs of the dog or gripping tongs we prefer
to employ in lieu of the hand rod above mentioned a pair of long but light tongs D
as shown in figures 3 and 4 the inner ends of which are hooked or otherwise
connected above the joint to the upward extensions of the limbs of the dog the
attachment being conveniently made to eyes d on the pin which connects the
chain E to the limbs A. A These long tongs D are operated by the attendant to
open or close the limbs of the dog and to ensure the gripping of the ingot at a
suitable position. When the attendant requires to operate the dog from a point
at a considerable distance off we may use a pair of "lazy-tongs" instead of the

page_text: plain tongs. The arrangement of long plain tongs or lazy tongs may also be fitted
in combination with the ordinary form of dog which is shown in figure 6 of
the drawings the inner ends of the tongs being attached to the upper ends of the
limbs of the gripping dog.
The mode which we prefer to employ for connecting the dog and tongs is to
form hooks on the inner ends of the tongs D to engage with eyes d formed on the
pins by which the dog is suspended.
The improved apparatus described may also be employed for gripping and
lifting logs of wood bales and other articles. For lifting metal plates or other
articles of considerable length we prefer to fork one of the limbs of the dog as is
indicated by the dotted lines in figure 2 in order to prevent tilting of the article
as it is raised; and to permit of locking the dog in an open position so that it may
readily be removed from the ingot or other article after it has been deposited we
fit upon one of the limbs A a toothed segment F and after the dog has opened out
‚on being lowered we drop the end of the long guiding rod into the tooth next the
adjacent limb to prevent it closing and then raise the dog.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
First-The improved gripping and lifting "dog" herein described and illustrated
in figures-1-and-2 of the accompanying drawings.
Second The combination with the limbs A of a grinning dog of the catches-B