Improvements in the Tongs or Lifting Appliances for Handling Slabs of Iron or Steel or the like.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 14th July, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 6th Apr., 1894-Accepted, 14th July, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Tongs or Lifting Appliances for Handling
Slabs of Iron or Steel or the like.
We, CHARLES JOHN BAGLEY, and LLEWELYN ROBERTS, General Manager
and Works Manager respectively, of The Moor Steel and Iron Company, Limited,
and THE MOOR STEEL AND IRON COMPANY LIMITED, all of Stockton-on-Tees,
in the County of Durham, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows
This invention relates to the tongs or lifting appliances for handling slabs of
iron or steel and is adapted for handling such slabs by the aid of a crane in order
to lower them into or lift them out of a reheating or the like furnace especially
when constructed below the ground level.
The tongs as hitherto used for this purpose consist of the usual two levers
coupled to one fulcrum, the shorter arms of which grip the slab at opposite parts
as the controlling power is applied by manual labour, to the longer arms which are
slung from the lifting chain of a crane or hoist.
Owing to the intense heat radiating from such masses of hot iron or steel at the
times such operations are in progress, the work of manipulating the tongs is
attended with great difficulty.
By our invention the tongs are manipulated at a greater distance from the mass
of hot iron or steel to which they are applied and in order to effect this the tongs
of the usual form have connected to them by hinged joints or the like, other levers
similarly coupled together at one fulcrum so that the free ends thereof can be
grasped by the men at a suitable distance from the heat and the tongs thereby
controlled in the manner required.
G. J. CLARKSON,
Chartered Patent Agent,
Stockton-on-Tees, Agent for the Applicants.
Date HS May
G. J. CLARKSON,
Chartered Patent Agent,
Stockton-on-Tees, Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Tongs or Lifting Appliances for Handling
Slabs of Iron or Steel or the like.
We, CHARLES JOHN BAGLEY, and LLEWELYN ROBERTS, General Manager,
and Works Manager respectively of The Moor Steel and Iron Company Limited,
and THE MOOR STEEL AND IRON COMPANY LIMITED, all of Stockton-on-Tees,
in the County of Durham, 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 tongs or lifting appliances for handling slabs of iron
or steel and is adapted for handling such slabs by the aid of a crane in order to
lower them into or lift them out of a reheating or the like furnace especially when
constructed below the ground level and intended to be charged with a series of
slabs stacked one above another in the manner described and illustrated in the
Specification of our invention bearing date of the 7th of July 1893 and numbered
13227 in which it is obviously desirable that the operation of depositing or
removing a series of slabs from the furnace should be as expeditious as possible
on account of the hot gases escaping whilst the furnace is open.

page_text: The tongs as hitherto used for this purpose consist of the usual two levers
coupled to one fulcrum the shorter arms of which grip the slab at opposite parts
either by indentation or an underclutch the weight in suspension conducing in this
respect to the proper action of the tongs the controlling or manipulating power
being applied by manual labour direct to the longer arms which are slung from the
lifting chain of a crane or hoist.
Owing to the intense heat radiating from such masses of hot iron or steel at the
times when such operations are in progress the work of manipulating the tongs in
this way is attended with great difficulty.
And in order that it may be clearly understood in what way tongs are constructed
and fitted up according to our invention so as to be manipulated at a convenient
distance from the mass of hot iron or steel we will now proceed to describe the
same with reference to the accompanying drawing.
A pair of tongs is illustrated in each of the Figures 1 and 2 in the accompanying
drawing that is to say that the tongs in each case consist of a pair of levers
coupled together to one fulcrum at a, the arms a¹ a¹ of which are slung from a
chain of a crane or hoist, whilst the arms a² a² are engaged in gripping the slabs
to be raised or lowered as the case may be and in these respects the tongs which
are of the usual well known construction are to be taken as representative of tongs
generally of the kind to which our invention is usefully applicable.
But in order that such tongs may be manipulated at a convenient distance I
furnish them with the manipulating leverage as shown in Figure 1, consisting of
two levers coupled together at c with their shorter arms c¹ c¹ linked or connected
to the arms a¹ a¹ of the tongs, whilst the longer arms 2 c² are available for the
grasp by hand of the manipulator of the tongs from which construction it will be
observed that the manipulator can not only stand at a convenient distance from
the tongs and the hot mass of iron or steel intended to be gripped but is also
furnished with better leverage over the tongs as well. In Figure-2 the like result
is effected by substituting for the manipulating levers c¹ c², c c² the right and left
hand screw shaft d operated by the crank d' which also allows the manipulator to
stand at a convenient distance from the tongs and their load, and affords more
power over them as well, but it will be observed that a screw shaft screwed through
the arms a¹ a¹ of the tongs in manner shown in Figure 2 must necessarily be
restricted in its movements relatively to those arms, whereas the combination of
levers c¹ c², c c² as shown in Figure i can readily accomodate itself to any position
relatively to the tongs proper that is likely to be required in ordinary use.
In the figures e is a wedge preferably slung from a chain e' connected to the
tongs so that the wedge as shown hanging free in Figure 2 can be inserted between
the tongs and the slab to keep all tight as shown in Figure 1.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
In the use and construction of tongs of the kind employed for handling slabs of
iron, steel or the like, the combination therewith of the manipulating levers as
shown in Figure 1 or the screw shaft as shown in Figure 2 or their equivalents
with or without the securing wedge e, substantially as and for the purpose as
herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
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1001.
G. J. CLARKSON,
Chartered Patent Agent,
Stockton-on-Tees, Agent for the Applicants.