Improved Means for Suspending and Manipulating Ingots or Forgings whilst being Heated and Operated upon.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Nov., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 6th Aug.. 1890-Accepted. 11th Oct., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Suspending and Manipulating Ingots or
Forgings whilst being Heated and Operated upon.
I, CHARLES DAVY, of 30, Whitworth Road, Ranmoor, Sheffield, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
In the operation of mechanical forging, it is necessary that the ingot or piece of
metal operated on should be turned on its axis in order that it may be pressed or
hammered as required.
The main object of my invention is to enable this turning of the ingot to any desired
or definite extent to be effected by the hoisting mechanism itself; and to this end the
invention consists in providing means of imparting to the hoisting chain a simple
running motion as well as the usual hoisting and lowering motions.
The invention also consists in providing means for controlling the outer end of the
porter bar which holds the ingot while being heated and operated on.
According to my invention I employ a travelling crane having a pair of crabs, both
provided with the usual hoisting, lowering, and racking, motions, the one crab being
designed to support the ingot and turn it as required while the other or auxiliary crab
controls the outer end of the porter bar. The ingot is slung in the bight of the
hoisting chain of the main crab and said chain passes over two chain wheels or barrels
carried by the crab and capable of being driven together or separately in the same or
in different directions for the purpose of hoisting lowering or turning the ingot.
When the bight of the chain is lengthened or shortened the ingot is raised or lowered
but is not turned on its axis, this turning being effected only by the running of that
part of the chain which passes under the ingot. The chain wheels or barrels are
provided with means for driving them in either direction and the variations in the
effective length of the chain is brought about by revolving the wheels or barrels so
that the chain will either be paid off or taken up by both wheels or barrels simulta-
neously while for turning the ingot without raising or lowering it, the wheels or
barrels are revolved so that one is paying off the chain while the other is taking it up,
or by the one revolving while the other remains stationary. Instead, however, of the
ingot being slung in the bight of the hoisting chain itself, it may be supported in the
usual endless sling passing around a roller or sheave which would occupy the place of
the ingot in the bight of the hoisting chain.
The extremity of the porter bar is controlled by the auxiliary crab whose chain is
connected to a counterweight through which the porter bar freely passes or to which
it may be secured by wedges, keys, or screws, in any desired position. By lengthening
or shortening the chain of this auxiliary crab, the ingot may be maintained in a hori-
zontal position or be presented, at any inclination, to the action of the press.
Dated this 6th day of November 1889.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Suspending and Manipulating Ingots or
Forgings whilst being Heated and Operated upon.
1, CHARLES DAVY of 30, Whitworth Road, Ranmoor Sheffield, 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 :-
In the operation of mechanical forging, it is necessary that the ingot or forging
should be turned on its axis in order that it may be pressed or hammered in the
required direction.

page_text: The main object of my invention is to enable this turning of the ingot or forging to
any desired or definite extent to be effected by the hoisting mechanism itself; and to
this end the invention consists in providing means of imparting to the hoisting chain
a simple running motion as well as the usual hoisting motion.
The invention also consists in providing means for controlling the outer end of the
porter bar which holds the ingot while being heated and operated on, or the further
end of a long shaft.forging when no porter bar is used.
According to my invention 1 employ a travelling crane having two crabs both
provided with gear for hoisting (which herein includes also lowering) the ingot or
forging and for racking the crabs, the main crab being designed to support the end of
the ingot or forging and turn it as required while the other or auxiliary crab controls
the outer end of the porter bar or of the forging as the case may be. The ingot or
forging is slung in or from the bight of the hoisting chain of the main crab and said
chain passes over two chain wheels or on to barrels carried by the crab and capable of
being driven together or separately in the same or in different directions for the
purpose of hoisting or turning the ingot. When the bight of the chain is lengthened
or shortened by acting on both its members simultaneously the ingot is raised or
lowered but is not turned on its axis, this turning being effected only by the running
of the bight of the chain. The chain wheels or barrels are provided with means for
driving them in either direction, and the variation in the effective length of the chain
is brought about by revolving the wheels or barrels so that the chain. will either be
paid off or taken up by both wheels or barrels simultaneously while for turning the
ingot the wheels or barrels are revolved so that one is paying off the chain while the
.other is taking it up, or by the one revolving while the other remains stationary:
instead, however, of the ingot being slung in the bight of the hoisting chain itself, it
may be supported in the usual endless sling passing around a roller or sheave which
would occupy the place of the ingot in the bight of the hoisting chain.
The extremity of the porter bar or of a long shaft forging as the case may be is
.controlled by the auxiliary crab whose chain is connected to a counterweight through
which the porter bar freely passes or to which it may be secured by wedges, keys, or
screws, in any desired position. By lengthening or shortening. the chain of this
auxiliary crab, the ingot may be maintained in a horizontal position or bo presented
at any inclination, to the action of the press.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
Specification wherein
Fig. 1 shows in side elevation Fig. 2 in end elevation and Fig. 3 in plan the general
arrangement of the crane.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation Fig. 5 an end elevation and Fig. 6 a plan of the main
crab.
Fig. 7 is an end elevation Fig. 8 a side elevation and Fig. 9 a plan of the secondary
or auxiliary crab.
Fig. 10 shows a short ingot and porter bar with counterweight.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
Referring to the general arrangement A is the travelling gantry, B is the main
crab and C the secondary crab. D is the forging to be operated on in the hydraulic
forging press E. In the example it is a long shaft, no porter bar being used and it is
hung in an endless swing chain F, passing over the middle sheave of a set of three,
fast on the same axis, the outer ones of which rest in the bights of a pair of duplicate
chains G (acting together as one) dependent from the main crab B, and through
which the hoisting and turning motions are imparted to the forging by means of the
.gearing on the main crab hereafter described. The forging is also partly supported
towards the other end by means of a similar sling H, passing over a sheave in a block. I
which is hung by another sheave in the bight of a chain K, dependent from the
secondary crab C, and actuated by gearing thereon as hereafter described for raising
or lowering the outer end of the forging as may be required.
The racking motions of the crabs along the gantry, the hoisting and the turning
motions of the chains G, and the hoisting motions of the chain K, are, in the exampl

page_text: illustrated, all derived from main shafts mounted alongside the gantry A. These shafts
may be mounted in tumbler bearings and communicate motion to the mechanism upon
the crabs in the usual manner, but it is preferred to employ the system of gearing
shown in the drawings, which forms the subject of previous Letters Patent granted to
me dated Oct. 25, A.D. 1887 No. 14535, whereby the use of tumbler bearings is
avoided. The two shafts L L' impart the hoisting and turning motions to the chains G,
of the main crab; shaft M, gives the racking motion to the main crab; shaft N, gives
the hoisting motion to the chain K, of the secondary crab C; and shaft O, gives the
racking motion to said crab. The pair of shafts L L' are geared together at the end
by a cross shaft P, (which may be the crank shaft of a steam engine actuating the
whole system of shafting) provided with reversing gear by which the shafts L L may
be driven in the same or opposite directions.
It will however be obvious that the invention is not limited to this arrangement as
any other mode of working may be adopted. For example each shaft might be
provided with independent driving power.
I will now describe the mechanism upon the main crab by which the effective
length of the bights of the chains G, is varied, or a simple running motion imparted
thereto without varying the effective length, according as it is desired to raise or
lower the forging or to turn it. In the example illustrated the chains & are endless
and the effective length of the bights by which the forging is suspended is varied by
allowing more or less of the slack of the said chains to hang pendant in the form of
idle loops G¹; means being provided whereby these loops are always maintained of
equal length whether in hoisting, or in hoisting and turning, or in turning, the ingot;
for were the slack to be accumulated unequally the hoisting motion would be interfered
with. In the example illustrated, the suspension bights of the chains G are supported
from pairs of sprocket wheels R R', the idle part of the chain passing over pairs of
sprocket wheels S S¹. The shafts of the sprocket wheels R R are respectively geared
by toothed wheels 1, 1, 2, 2, with the shafts T T of worm wheels 3, 3, driven by
worms 4, 4, from the toothed drums U U₁ which are constantly in gear with the main
shafts LL' respectively. The shafts of the sprocket wheels S S₁ are geared together
by bevel gear and a cross shaft 5, which is driven from the worm wheel shafts T T¹
through worms 6, 6, worm wheels 7, 7, and an equational box consisting of a loose
wheel 8 in which a pair of bevel pinions 9, 9, are mounted on radial axes, with which
gear at opposite sides, bevel pinions 10, 10, on the shafts of the wheels 7, the wheel 8
gearing with a wheel 11 on the cross shaft 5. By means of this arrangement when
the sprocket wheels R R are rotated in opposite directions (as indicated by the
arrows) for the purpose of raising or lowering the forging, the pinions 9 are rotated on
their axes only, and the wheels 8, 11, and the sprocket. wheels S S¹ remain stationary.
On stopping one of the shafts L, or L³, and the corresponding sprockets R, or R',
whilst the other remains running for the purpose of raising and also turning the
forging, one half of the length of chain thereby added to the one idle loop G¹ is
transferred to the other one (so as to keep the said loops of equal length) by the one
pinion 10 causing the pinions 9 to roll round upon the other pinion 10 and thus
driving the sprocket wheels S S¹ at half speed, the operation being similar but opposite
in lowering and turning. Similarly if the shafts L L' be driven in opposite directions
the hoisting sprocket wheels R R' and the pick up sprocket wheels S S¹ will be driven
in the same direction and at the same speed and the chains will be caused to run
without alteration of the effective length of the suspension bight, for the purpose of
turning the forging in the sling.
The secondary crab C, is provided only with hoisting or lowering mechanism
consisting merely of a chain drum W upon which the ends of the chain K are wound
and unwound together, driven by spur gear 12, 13, worm gear 14, 15, and spur
gear 16, 17, from the toothed drum X in gear with the main shaft N. The bight of
said chain K supports the block I of the endless sling H as before mentioned.
The racking motion Z, 2, 22, 23, 2³, of the main crab and Y, y, y', y³, y³, of the
secondary crab are too obvious to need explanation.
It will be understood that although I have described the use of a double hoisting

page_text: chain G, so that the strains on the pulley block of the sling chain F may be
symmetrical, a single endless chain G might be used with a double endless sling F, or
the sling F may be dispensed with and the forging rest directly in the bights of the
hoisting chains. As however the chain K of the secondary crab has no running
motion it is necessary to use the endless sling H which is free to run independently of
chain Kunder the turning motion of the ingot imparted by the running motion of the
chains G.
It will also be understood that instead of using an endless chain or pair of chains G
running on sprocket wheels, a chain or chains might be used, whose ends are attached
to and wound on chain drums, suitable gearing being provided on the main crab for.
driving these barrels separately or together in the same or opposite directions,
according as it is desired to vary the length of or give a running motion to the
suspension bight. In this case the running of the chain in the same direction would
be limited and therefore the endless chain arrangement above described is to be
preferred.
Jn Fig. 10, D is the ingot slung by chains F G as before, V is the porter bar
and V₁ the counterweight hung by a block in the bight of chain K of the secondary
crab. In this example the porter bar passes freely through the counterweight so
that it can turn therein. Were it fixed by wedges or otherwise the counterweight
would be hung in an endless sling H.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and the manner of performing the same, I declare that what I claim is :-
ola In a forge crane, the method of turning the forging by imparting a running
or a combined hoisting and running motion to the hoisting chain itself, substantially
in the manner and by the means herein specified.
2. In a forge crane in which the turning motion of the forging is given by
the running motion of an endless hoisting chain, the combination of mechanism
herein described whereby the slack of the chain is kept in symmetrically disposed
idle loops of constantly equal lengths notwithstanding that one only of the hoisting
sprocket wheels may be in operation.
-
3. In a forge crane, the combination with a main crab provided with means of
imparting running motion to the hoisting chain for the purpose of turning the
forging, of a secondary crab provided with a hoisting barrel and chain in the
bight of which is hung the block of an endless free running sling chain for
supporting the outer end of a porter bar or long forging as described.
Dated this 6th day of Angust. 1890
Dated this 6th day of August. 1890
C. DAVY.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.