Improvements in and relating to Freight Transferring Apparatus
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1897-Accepted, 13th Nov., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Freight Transferring Apparatus
A coinmunication by WILLIAM LEGGET MCCABE and CHARLES HERBERT ANDERSON
both of Theatre Building, Tacoma in the County of Pierce and State of
Washington, United States of America, Engineers.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6 Bank Street, Manchester, both in
the County of Lancaster; 118, New Street, Birmingham in the County of Warwick
and 322 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, 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:-
This invention relates to the transferring of grain and other freight shipped in
sacks, boxes or bales by means of carrying belts made of rope and so arranged that
freight may be transferred from the cars into a freight house, or into a ship and
vice versa, without the use of hand trucks, commonly used for such work. This is
done by means of portable rope belt conveyors to convey the freight from the cars or
ship into the freight-house, where by means of reversible dumping tables it is
transferred to a fixed transferring belt which conveys it to one or the other end of
the building. This belt is provided with portable interlacing elevator belts which
lift the freight on to another reversible dumping table, from which it is received by
another portable carrier and delivered to any part of the freight house for storage or
to the cars or ship for shipment.
The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying
drawings in which :—
Fig. 1. is a cross section of a freight-house with a car on one side and a ship on the
other.
Fig. 2. is a longitudinal section of the freight-house.
Fig. 3. is a plan of the same showing the arrangement of the apparatus for
bandling freight.
Fig. 4. is a detail perspective of the elevating conveyor and the dumping table.
Fig. 5. is an enlarged detail of the interlacing ropes of the conveyors.
Fig. 6. is a detail perspective of the driving means for the main conveyor.
Fig. 7. is a side elevation of the same.
Fig. 8. is a plan view of Fig. 7.
Fig. 9. is a side view of the frame for the conveyor.
Fig. 10. is a vertical section and front view of one of the idler rolls carried by the
frame.
Fig. 11. is a side view of the tension device for the main conveyor, and
Fig. 12. is an end view of the same.
Similar letters refer to similar parts of the several views.
The apparatus consists of a main carrying rope belt constructed on the floor or
floors of a freight or warehouse of any length, as shown at A A A Figs. 1, 2 and 3,
where in this instance, it is arranged for two floors. By means of the grooved
drums B B at one end and drum D at the other, the latter being used as a driving
C
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page_text: drum, the belt is run continuously to the right or left as desired, the loosely running
idlers I I I carrying it on a line parallel with the floors. This belt is constructed of
one continuous line of rope and by means of the tension wheel H and the weight W
suspended from the pulley J is kept tight at all times. See Figs. 11 and 12.
The main belt A is provided with one or more reversible dumping tables as indicated
at F F and F. These tables are centrally pivoted on a stout frame f f f as shown
in Fig. 4. The upright standards or legs are equally distant from each other and
thus occupy the angles of a square. Under each leg is a pivoted roller t. On each
side of the belt A is a track rail T T and the rollers t¹ run on this track supporting
the table frame across the belt A and the table F directly over it. The table Fis
made of sheet metal or other material with sides turned up and pivoted to the frame
at the sides as shown at f¹. Suspended on a pivot in this way it can be set to an
incline so as to cause the packages thrown on it to slide to one or the other side as
desired. As shown in Fig. 4 the table F is set to receive freight from the elevator E
and will turn it to one side of the belt A on to one of the conveyors C. In order to
receive freight from one of the conveyors C the table frame is to be lifted clear of
the belt A and turned one fourth round so F will deliver the freight on to A the
pivoted rollers being turned so as to fit the track T. Thus the tables F F1 and F2
are reversible and may be rolled along the track T so as to occupy any position
desired from the main belt A.
run
The elevators shown at E E¹ and E2 are constructed as shown at Fig. 4 where they
are in position to elevate the freight from the main belt A. on to one of the reversible
dumping tables F. It consists of a lower drum d and an upper drum e mounted on
the side frames E E. Each drum is grooved and provided with a number of single
rope belts adapted to the ropes of the main belt A in number and spacings. The
shaft of d is centrally pivoted at gon stout bars bb mounted on rollers t t made to
on the track T. The bars 6 b are held together by means of the raised
cross bars 61 and 62. These cross bars serve as a support to the sides of E as shown
in Fig. 4 and are high enough above A to allow freight to pass under them. The
elevator is reversible and may be turned over to incline to the left and rest on the
cross bar b¹. It is to be observed that the drum d is below the main belt A and on
a level with the idler I. The elevator rope belts a a pass between the ropes of belt A
and thus make a continuous belt to carry the freight up on to the dumping table F.
Elevator E is provided with a friction roller d¹ which by means of the adjusting screwsh h
is made to roll hard on the ropes of belt A and cause them to ride hard on d as more
clearly shown in Fig. 5. By this means d is made to turn by belt A and thus the
belts a a of E are put in motion to correspond with A.
It is to be observed that E can be run along on T to occupy any place desired on
the belt A. In order to pass the idler I, one end of the carriage may be lifted by
using b¹ or 62 as a handle and rasing d so as to pass over I, the belt A being raised
with d.
The conveyors C C¹ or C2 used to carry the freight to or from the frame
of the main belt A are constructed as shown by Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The frame
is made of four stout pipes or bars c c c c of any desired length with a drum ď²
(Fig. 6) at one end and drum d³ (Fig. 9) at the other end. These drums are grooved
as shown in Fig. 8 in which is fitted a rope belt a¹ made of one continuous rope,
the same as in main belt A. The pipes 'c care framed together by cross pipes or
bars c¹ c¹ and c² c2 making a stout frame. On cross pipes c¹ c¹ are small grooved idlers i,
made to carry a a¹ along the conveyor frame. The belt is operated by means of
the wheels K and L. Supposing the belt being run so as to carry goods from d² to d³
wheel L takes the rope from the left end of d² and carries it down one-half round
and transfers it to wheel K which transfers it to the right end of d³ as indicated
in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. By this means the rope is transferred from one side to the other
of the belt as is required in a belt made of one continuous rope. The wheel L has
a shaft with sliding bearings adjusted by hand screws as shown at h¹ by means of
which the belt may be kept tight. The belt is driven by an electric motor M which
..turns the worm wheel N with gear wheel attached to the shaft of K all of which is

page_text: indicated in Figs. 67 and 8. It is to be observed that the conveyors C and C¹
and C² are made to weigh as little as possible so as to be portable. They are to be
carried from place to place about the building.
In conveying freight to the upper floor the elevator E takes it from the main belt
on the first floor and delivers it on to an angled board or chute slide G on which it
passes round and on to the belt leading to the upper floor. By means of the
elevator E2 it is thrown on the dumping table F which delivers it to the
conveyor C2 from which it is stored. See Figs. 1, 2 and 3.
Having described the apparatus in detail its operation is practically as follows:-
Supposing freight is to be taken from the car R to the ship S. The sacks or bales
are thrown on conveyor C and by it conveyed to the dumping table F which turns
it on to the main belt A on which it is carried to the elevator E¹ where it is raised to
the table F on which it is turned upon the conveyor C' and delivered by it to the
ship S. Should freight be taken from the ship to the car, elevator E' would be
moved to and reversed so as to lift goods passing from right to left. The
carrying belts would be reversed in motion and the dumping tables reversed to work
with them and the work would proceed as before, only in the opposite direction. It
is to be observed that should conveyor C be set opposite C¹ the work can be done
without the use of a main belt A.
To carry the freight into the ware-house it is delivered to the main belt over the
conveyors C or C¹ and from that by means of elevator E¹ or E2 and tables F¹ or F2 it
is thrown upon a short conveyor as C² and delivered to any part of the building. It
is to be observed that the conveyor C2 can be raised or lowered so as to deliver the
freight on a level with the top of the pile and thus save the labor of lifting it into
place. And also in taking freight from the ware-house the conveyor can be lowered
so the sacks or bales may be rolled down around the belt without lifting and further
the elevators dumping tables and conveyors being movable they can be moved to or
from the goods as they are being removed or stored.
It is evident that the invention is susceptible to modifications to meet peculiar
requirements and the inventors do not therefore desire to limit themselves to
minute details of construction as to dimensions, number of parts and the kind of
materials required in the apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a main conveyor, of an
elevating conveyor extending longitudinally above the main conveyor and adapted to
be moved longitudinally of said main conveyor and t. eceive material therefrom,
substantially as described.
2. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a main conveyor, of an
elevating conveyor extending longitudinally of the main conveyor and mounted so as
to be reversed in its longitudinal relation to said main conveyor and to receive
material therefrom whereby the same may be conveyed toward either end of the
main conveyor, substantially as described.
•
3. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a main conveyor, of a
longitudinally movable support, and an elevating conveyor extending longitudinally
of the main conveyor and pivoted to said support so as to be capable of inclination
in the direction of either end of the support, substantially as described.
4. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a main conveyor composed
of a series of belts, of a movable support, an elevating conveyor extending
longitudinally of the main conveyor and composed of a series of belts lying between
the belts of the main conveyor and carried by said support so as to be longitudinally
movable along the length of the main conveyor, substantially as described.
5. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a main conveyor composed
of a travelling belt, an elevating conveyor adapted to receive material therefrom, a
driving roll beneath said main conveyor and adapted to drive said elevating con-

page_text: veyor, and a pressure roll located above said main conveyor and adapted to hold the
same in frictional contact with the driving roll of the elevating conveyor, substantially
as described.
6. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a main conveyor, of an
elevating conveyor extending longitudinally upward above said main conveyor
adapted to receive material therefrom, and a dumping table located above said main
conveyor and adapted to receive material from the elevating conveyor and to discharge
the same at an angle to said conveyor, substantially as described.
7. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with two conveyors extending at
an angle to each other, of a support movable longitudinally of one of said conveyors,
and a dumping table pivoted to said support and adapted to receive material from
one conveyor and discharge the same in opposite directions upon the other conveyor,
substantially as described.
8. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a conveyor, of a
longitudinally movable support, a transverse inclined dumping table centrally pivoted
upon said support and adapted to be tilted in opposite directions to discharge
material received from said conveyor upon either side thereof substantially as
described.
9. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a main conveyor, of an
auxiliary conveyor located at an angle thereto, a reversible frame longitudinally
movable over the main conveyor, and a pivoted dumping table carried by said frame,
whereby the frame and table may be adjusted to receive material from either
conveyor and deliver the same to the other conveyor, substantially as described.
10. In a transferring mechanism, a portable conveyor composed of a belt, a
supporting frame having hearing rolls at opposite ends, idler rolls extending trans-
versely of said frame to support said belt, a driving motor located upon a transverse
support carried by said framework and lying between the upper and lower layers of
said belt, a driving wheel located upon a support carried by said frame and over
which said belt passes, and means connecting the driving wheel and motor,
substantially as described.
11. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a main conveyor, of an
auxiliary conveyor located at an angle thereto, and a vertically inclined pivoted
dumping table supported upon a reversible frame and situated at the junction of said
conveyors and adapted to discharge material received from one of said conveyors in
opposite directions upon the other conveyor, substantially as described.
12. In a transferring mechanisın, the combination with a main conveyor, of an
auxiliary conveyor extending at an angle therefrom, an elevating conveyor extending
longitudinally upward from the main conveyor, and a vertically inclined pivoted
dumping table located above the main conveyor to receive material from said elevating
conveyor and discharge the same in opposite directions, substantially as described.
13. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a travelling conveyor, a
vertically inclined elevating conveyor extending longitudinally above the same and
adapted to receive material from the upper surface of said travelling conveyor, a
second travelling conveyor located in a plane above said first travelling conveyor, and
a vertically inclined chute to receive material from said elevating conveyor and
discharge the same upon the upper surface of the second travelling conveyor,
substantially as described.
14. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a main conveyor, of a
supporting carriage adapted to be moved longitudinally thereof, an elevating conveyor
extending longitudinally above said main conveyor and centrally pivoted upon said
carriage so as to be reversed to face either end thereof, and transverse supports
located at opposite ends of said carriage and adapted to support the elevating conveyor
when in its inclined position, substantially as described.
15. In a transferring mechanism, the combination with a conveyor having sheaves
at opposite ends, of an endless, belt passing over said 'sheaves in a series of parallel
lines, a vertical bearing wheel, and a horizontally disposed transferring wheel around
which said belt is carried so as to transfer the belt from the upper portion of one end

page_text: of one sheave to the lower portion of the opposite end of the other sheave, substantially
as described.
16. In a freight transferring mechanism, the combination with a travelling
conveyor composed of rope belts extending on two or more floors of a warehouse, an
elevating conveyor extending above the same and composed of rope belts interlacing
with the belts of the travelling conveyor, and an angled chute located to receive
material from the elevating conveyor and deposit it upon the upper portion of the
travelling conveyor, substantially as described.