IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPERTAINING TO CRANES
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Lawrence Williams and
Henry Adams at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th
September 1883.
WILLIAM LAWRENCE WILLIAMS of 2 Westminster Chambers, and HENRY
ADAMS of Queen Victoria Street, both of London in the county of Middlesex,
Engineers "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPERTAINING TO CRANES"
This Invention relates to improvements in or appertaining to Cranes, and consists
in a novel construction and combination of parts whereby the radius of the crane
can be extended at will and the cranes can be so constructed as to set down or take
up a load at any reasonable distance from the centre, with or without altering the
inclination of the jib. This invention is particularly applicable to cranes for
unloading vessels or other analogous purposes, where a reasonable range of action
is required, for whereas by the present system employed for discharging coal, the
swinging of the crane is necessitated and the dropping of the coal from some
heigth into shoots, leading to the barges or wagons or into the wagons themselves,
which must then be run to other shoots and tipped, causing consequent breakage
of the coal; by our Invention we are enabled to lift the coal from the holds of the
vessels, and deposit it as gently as may be desired into lighters, moored for the
purpose at the opposite side of the discharging vessels, thus dispensing with
swinging the cranes and obtaining greater speed of discharge, we are also enabled
by swinging the Cranes, to vary the radius and thereby reach wagons on two or
more lines of rails, or deposit direct into several different hoppers, without the
intervention of shoots. In carrying our invention into practice in application to
existing cranes or in constructing new ones, we arrange upon the cranes a
lengthening arm, which may be constructed of any reasonable length
In applying this invention to existing cranes for working over a ship, we
construct these arms thus: a short distance below the head of the crane post we
affix a horizontal bar, at the end of which we carry up a vertical bar fixed strongly
to the jib a short distance from the extremity thereof: this bar is of the nature of
the King Post of a roof, at the right angle formed by these two bars, or at a point
in close proximity thereto, we pivot or hinge the lengthening arm; which we
construct of wrought iron, of channel, box, or other suitable section and properly
braced, on this pivot or hinge the arm is turned backwards when not required or

page_text: to a forward position when required for work by means of chains arranged in a
suitable manner to these chains notion is imparted by a single acting hydraulic
ram, steam cylinder, or other mechanical means, placed in any convenient position.
We employ also a hand winch and winding barrel, having a chain attached to the
extremity of the lengthening bar. The chain connected with the ram has command
over the lengthening arm until it arrives at a vertical position, when it is
controlled by the hand winch chain which also lowers it down to its horizontal
position, where it is held by slings from the extremity of the diagonal jib as
hereinafter described. When the arm is being lifted back by the winch, the single
acting ram pays out the slack of the chain About the upper extremity of the
King Post attached to the rigid diagonal jib aforesaid we connect a chain, or
chains, which are secured to the outer end of the lengthening arm, and by this
means the horizontal position of the lengthening arm is retained
In order to move forward the load upon the lengthening arm we attach thereon
ways to allow of the chain guide, which for convenience we mount upon a trolly, to
move backwards and forwards longitudinally, and the desired position of the guide
is determined by two chains, the one connected to one end of the trolly, and
passing round a sheave at the outer end of the lengthening arm, and back over
suitable pullies at the crane post to the source of power; the other end is also
directed in a similar manner, so as to allow of the release or paying out of onc
chain, while the other is being hauled on to move the trolly in or out. When the
lengthening arm is out of use, it rests back on a cross bar attached to the stays or
fixed part of the jib: We fix two sheaves at the extremity of the diagonal jib to
carry two chains, one of which is used to draw over the lengthening arm when
required, and the other for ordinary lifting chain. When the lengthening arm is
not in use, the triangular bracing is not necessary to, or obstructive to, the action
of the crane, as the strains come in the tension rods &c. in the usual manner.. The
motive power for working the trolly upon the lengthening arm is supplied by a
double acting bydraulic rain, steam cylinder or any other suitable known source of
power, of the usual pattern placed in any convenient position to the end of which
is applied a system of pullies so arranged that they will haul upon the one chain,
while paying out the other substantially as herein before described.
In cases where it is necessary to raise coal or merchandise by the crane, and
carry it round, we can so arrange the lengthening arm, that it can be run in or out
horizontally to allow of the crane being swung in the ordinary manner, and the
load deposited at a greater distance than that at which it was raised or vice versa,
by means of running the arm out at cach revolution of the crane and thus we
avoid interfering with the rigging of the vessels or other obstructions to the use of
the long arm but in this case, the lengthening arm must not be pivoted or
hinged, but is guided and moved upon rollers or otherwise, or is connected direct
to the crosshead of the ram or hydraulic cylinder.
Or we can so construct the crane that the upper part will oscillate on a centre or
hinge in the same manner as a luffing jib.
These improvements are so arranged that the ordinary steel yard or weighing
gear is not in any way obstructed.
In combination with the above invention we also apply to the ordinary steel
yard or weighing gear an automatic mechanical Indicator. We fix to the rods
carrying the weights a metallic pencil, so held by a spring as to impinge against a
revolving drum; this drum is provided with special paper, and is caused to revolve
constantly in the same direction, by ordinary ratchet gearing, and is driven by the
action of the rising load, the turning of the jib, or lengthening of the radius or
may be actuated by the driver of the crane. Thus the operation of lifting the load
is indicated by the pencil describing a vertical line on the Cylindrical Drum Paper,
the movement of the drum causes a horizontal line to be described on the paper by
the pencil, and the position or heigth of this latter line indicates the weight raised
by the crane the paper is afterwards removed from the crane, and the total
weight ascertained, thus dispensing with the services of a meter, or weight taker. -

page_text: By another arrangement of the recording gear of the weighing apparatus, we
provide an indicator representing an ordinary counter showing tons, cwts, qrs, this
is actuated in a similar to the paper drum herein before described: we also
modify the arrangement of the brass weights of the weighing apparatus by
making the separate portions cylindrical, so that they may be all turned in the
lathe, and apply a central guide to leave the exterior open to observation_all
round-These improvements may be applied to any existing crane whatever class
of merchandise they may be used for.