IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAVELLING CRANES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Greig and Robert Burton, both of the Steam
Plough Works, Leeds, in the County of York, Engineers, for the
Sealed the 23rd February 1866, and dated the 2nd October 1865
i
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Greig and Robert
Burton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 2nd October 1865.
RTS
- 19
We, DAVID GREIG and ROBERT BURTON, both of the Steam Plough Works,
Leeds, in the County of York, Engineers,. do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention; for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAVELLING CRANES," to be as
follows:-
...This Invention has for its object improvements in travelling cranes.or
winding apparatus carried. by transverse beams or girders supported on:
overhead rails, on which the said beams or girders with the winding apparatus
are capable of: traversing. Such cranes have heretofore, been, in some cases
actuated by an endless rope.running from end to end, of, the line of rails and
actuating a pulley from.which the winding or lifting apparatus, has, been

page_text: driven. Now, according to our Invention, we employ the endless rope which
actuates the winding apparatus also to traverse this apparatus with its beams
or girders along the line of railway, and this we do by employing two clips in
connection with the winding apparatus and cross beams, and through these
clips the endless rope passes; by closing by a suitable handle or instrument
one of the clips, one side of the endless rope is nipped, and then as it travels
it hauls the beams or girders and the winding apparatus with it. If the other
clip is used it grips the opposite side of the endless rope, and hauls the beams
or girders in the opposite direction. This method of using the endless rope
is only practicable when the said rope travels at a low. speed and is capable of
bearing a heavy strain, whereas this rope has heretofore been light and has
been driven at a high speed. Now, in order to obtain sufficient grip on the
rope under this change of circumstances, we employ, according to our
Invention, a nipping pulley or drum for actuating the winding rope, and it
may be also for taking the power from the rope to the winding apparatus.
By a nipping pulley or drum we mean a pulley or drum with holding
instruments upon it, which seize a rope passed partly around it and prevent it
slinning
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions. of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Greig and Robert Burton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, DAVID
GREIG and ROBERT BURTON, both of the Steam Plough Works, Leeds, in the
County of York, Engineers, send greeting.
of
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant. unto
us, the said David Greig and Robert Burton, Her special licence that we,
the said David Greig and Robert Burton, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said David Greig and Robert Burton, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel

page_text: Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAVELLING
CRANES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said David
Greig and Robert Burton, our executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal
of one of us or them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be, filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
.)
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said David Greig and Robert Burton, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
...
This Invention has for its object improvements in travelling cranes or
winding apparatus carried by transverse beams or girders supported on over-
head rails, on which the said beams or girders with the winding apparatns
are capable of traversing. Such cranes, have heretofore been in some cases
actuated by an endless rope running from end to end of the line of rails and
actuating a pulley from which the winding or lifting apparatus has been driven.
Now, according to our Invention, we employ the endless rope, which actuates
the winding apparatus also to traverse this apparatus with its beams or girders
along the line of railway, and this we do by employing two clips in connection
with the winding apparatus and cross beams, and through these clips the
endless rope passes; by closing by a suitable handle or instrument one of the clips
one side of the endless rope is nipped, and then as it travels it hauls the beams
or girders and the, winding apparatus with it. If the other clip is used it
grips the opposite side of the endless rope and hauls the beams or girders in
the opposite direction. This method of using the endless rope is only prac
ticable when the said rope travels at a low speed and is capable of bearing a
heavy strain, whereas this rope has heretofore been light and has been driven
at a high speed. Now, in order to obtain sufficient grip on the rope under
this. change of circumstances, we employ, according to our Invention, a nipping
pulley or drum for actuating the winding rope, and it may be also for taking
the power from the rope to the winding. apparatus. By a nipping pulley or
drum we mean a pulley or drum with holding instruments upon it, which seize
a rope passed partly around it and prevent it slipping..
Having thus stated the nature. of our said Invention, we will procced more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same..
>

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING..
Figure 1 shews a side elevation, Figure 2 an end section, and Figure 3-
a plan of a travelling crane having our improvements applied' thereto. "As
most of the mechanism is of ordinary construction and well known it will not
be necessary to enter into any description thereof, more particularly as the
same will be understood by examination of the Drawings:
a is a nipping or clip pulley; this nipping pulley holds the rope so as not
to admit of its slipping, and it receives motion from a steam engine or other
power, and moves the endless rope z at a speed of about forty feet per minute.
The endless rope z is moved in the direction indicated by the dotted lines and
arrows, and the endless rope z in moving between the pulley a and the two end
pulleys y and x.gives motion to a like nipping pulley b, which is mounted on
and travels with the carriage; and from this nipping pulley b motion is com-
municated to the ordinary gearing of the crane, by which the hoisting, lowering,
and reversing, as well as the cross traversing motion, are accomplished in the
ordinary manner. In order to cause the endless rope z to traverse the
carriage of the crane the endless rope leaves the pulley bin opposite directions,
as indicated by the Drawing; hence, if the carriage of the crane be for a
time fixed to the endless rope by any suitable clip or holder, the carriage of
the crane will be caused to move with the rope, and thus travel to or from the
pulleys x, y, as required. The form of the clips or holding apparatus for this
purpose may be varied, the one preferred is shown in Figure 3. There are
two clips c, c', one on either side of the carriage, and according as the clip 'c
or c¹ is used so will the carriage of the crane be caused to move towards the
pulley x or y.
Thus if the clip c be caused to clip the endless rope for a
time the carriage of the crane will be caused to travel towards the pulley
and away from the pulley y, whereas if the clip c¹ be caused to hold for a
time the reverse action will take place. The moveable jaws or plates of the
clips c, are acted on by crank levers d, d, which at their other ends carry
In the
screw nuts, which are actuated by the screw f and hand wheel e.
arrangement of travelling crane shown in the Drawing there is also'pro-
vided another means of traversing the carriage without the use of the clips
c, c'. The movement of the carriage is by this arrangement effected as
follows:g, g, are worm wheels which are keyed on to the shafts or axles
of the wheels of the carriage of the crane, and they receive motion by screw
or worm shafts h, h, which are connected by suitable gearing and clutches,
and are actuated when desired by the rotation of the pulley b.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we would have it understood that what we claim is, the
combining the mechanism of a travelling crane as herein described, whereby
the endless rope employed is caused not only to actuate the ordinary gearing
of the crane, but also to produce the traversing motions of the carriage of
the crane as herein explained.
In witness whereof, we, the said David Greig and Robert Burton,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-eighth day of
March, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-six.
DAVID GREIG.
(L.B.)
ROBERT BURTON. (L.S.)