Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Galvanizing Sheet Metal.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Feb., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 17th Nov., 1893-Accepted, 23rd Dec., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Galvanizing
Sheet Metal.
I, JOSEPH VINCENT LAGUESSE, of Grevegnée, Belgium, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus formed of two frames provided with hooks
and connected with and by rods or links operated by means of coupling gear.
One of these frames serves for immersing the plates or sheets of metal into the
galvanizing bath of molten metal, after subjecting them to the action of a flux
bath; the other frame being used to withdraw the galvanized metal plates from
the galvanizing bath, and to cause them to pass through sand. These two
operations require very little labour, all that is required being, to throw into gear
a convenient clutch or coupling which may be operated from a distance, so that
the health of the operatives need not be endangered by the deleterious gases
rising from the galvanizing baths.
A receptacle or bath of trapezoid shape in section contains zinc, kept (by any
Above this level
suitable means) in the .melted state and at the working level.
is arranged a small basin or bath similar in shape to the first vessel and con-
taining the flux which is thus situated above the liquid zinc. Next to this small
basin is the sand also placed above the zinc. The object of the mechanism
hereinafter described is to immerse the sheets of metal to be galvanized in the
zinc bath and to withdraw them from that bath in such a manner that they pass
through the flux before entering the bath, and through the sand after leaving it.
The mechanical parts serving for each of these two operations are substantially
alike; they are hooks upon which the sheets or plates of metal to be galvanized
are placed, and which are, themselves, supported by frames suspended from links
or rods.
The introducing frame i.e. that which serves to immerse the plates or sheets into
the zinc bath may be formed by two flat iron bars guided by channel-shaped
secured to the ground.
guides, supported by three-legged supports "tripods
These bars are connected by two cross-bars and at their lower ends are provided
openings in which the ends or journals of a bar bent in form of which forms
an inner oscillating frame which may be secured to a cross-piece by means of a
fork oscillating between two stops on a fixed pivot secured to the cross-bar and
capable of engaging with a piece attached to the frame. This frame carries five
hooks rigidly secured to the frame. The central hook is straight and capable of
turning in the openings of an arm and of a cross-piece which openings form a
guiding sleeve for the said hook terminating in a handle at the top. When the
plate or sheet of metal is placed against the lower ends of the five hooks it is
sufficient to turn the handle-hook by hand to keep the sheet of metal firmly
in place.
The other hooks are secured to the cross-bar by means of pins or set screws,
while the handle hook which is adapted to turn is not fixed, but merely supported
by a pin. These hooks should be capable of being readily replaced on account of
When the frame descends the
the destructive action of the galvanizing bath.
hooks approach the vertical position and when the frame arrives at the lower end
of its downward movement, the operative disengages the fork and moves forward
the rocking frame with the sheet of metal it carries which while it is so moved,
turns back slightly so as to bear on the raising hooks which serve to lift it out of
the bath. They are secured to two cross-pieces forming part of a frame guided in

page_text: the same way as the introducing frame, and similarly suspended from two rods
or links.
To impart motion and arrest the links they are suspended from or jointed to
levers secured to shafts to the ends of which are secured levers and also weighted
levers.
The driving-shaft of the apparatus carries two loose pulleys operated by a
counter shaft, and two straps one of which is crossed whereby the said pulleys are
adapted to turn in opposite directions.
A friction-clutch placed between these pulleys is adapted to be operated by
hand and enables the shaft to be coupled with either of the pulleys as may be
required, thereby causing the shaft to turn in either direction.
Near the ends of this shaft are right and left screw-threads projecting from the
surface of the shaft. Sleeves which any suitable device prevents from turning
simultaneously with the shaft,serve as nuts for these screw-threaded portions of the
shaft and under the action of the threads are adapted to move closer together or
farther apart, as the case may be, or according as the shaft turns in one or the
other direction. By such a movement the sleeves issue from the screw threads on
one side or the other and are arrested, but springs bearing upon washers on the
shaft constantly press these nuts or sleeves against the screw-threaded ends of the
shaft so that when the motion of this shaft is reversed, the said screw-threaded
parts immediately engage the said nuts and move the two sleeves closer together.
The length of each of the said screw-threaded parts should be predetermined in
such a manner that the motion stops of its own accord, as soon as the sheets of
metal are completely immersed in the zinc bath or are wholly withdrawn from it.
Upon these sleeves are secured pins between which are arranged the ends of
levers which owing to this position are influenced by the motion of these sleeves
and according to the direction in which this motion takes place raise or lower the
hook-carrying frames which support the plates or sheets of metal.
set.
If the spaces between the two pins respectively were the same, the movements.
of the two frames, viz. the immersing-frame and the extracting frame, would
always take place simultaneously, both in lowering and in lifting the sheet of metal
operated upon. This is not eo, however, because of the difference between those
spaces, the space between one set of pins being larger than that between the other
It follows that the upward movement of one set of levers does not commence
till the other levers have commenced to rise, so that the hooks by which the metal
sheet is removed from the bath have risen a distance of about 50 centimetres
before the other hooks commence to rise; whereby the danger is avoided of the
sheet metal raised by one set of hooks being caught by the other set of hooks as
they rise from the galvanizing bath. To facilitate this extraction, 1 place above
the tank iron plates bent in V shape and attached to squares which at the same
time serve as guides for bars connected by a cross-piece which is pushed underneath
the sheet of metal before the hooks are allowed to re-descend.
The operation of the apparatus is most simple: when the hooks are out of the
bath, the rocking frame drawn back by the operative will rest upon the incline or
upon bridges or trestles erected for the purpose. This enables the operative to
place a sheet of metal without difficulty upon these hooks and to fix it in position
by turning the handle hook. The workman then raises the oscillating frame and
fixes it in position by means of the fork, whereupon he throws the friction-clutch
into gear so as to cause both the immersing and extracting frames to descend into
the zinc bath. When the immersing frame arrives at the end of its downward
movement, the operative disengages the handle fork and pushes forward again the
oscillating frame so as to incline the sheet of metal towards the extracting hooks
and make it bear upon these hooks.
After the sheet or plate of metal has remained immersed in the bath for a certain
space of time, the motion of the shaft is reversed. The removable sleeve imme-
diately acts upon the lever which raises the hooks which in their turn raise the said
sheet or plate of metal. When these hooks have risen to a sufficient height to

page_text: allow of the free passage of the other hooks these latter commence their upward
movement. When these respective upward movements are completed, the bars are
pushed underneath the sheet of metal extracted from the bath and the said sheet is
made to slide upon those bars for the purpose of its removal. At the same time
another operative as before stated, places a fresh sheet or plate of metal upon the
immersing-frame.
If preferred these operations may take place in succession and be performed by
one operative only; but generally the more advantageous plan is to have them
carried out simultaneously by two men.
Dated this 07th d...
Daha 1002
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Galvanizing
Sheet Metal.
I, JOSEPH VINCENT LAGUESSE, of Grivegnee, Belgium 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 apparatus formed of two frames provided with hooks
and connected with and by rods or links operated by means of coupling gear. One
of these frames serves for immersing the plates or sheets of metal into the
galvanizing bath of molten metal, after subjecting them to the action of a flux
bath; the other frame being used to withdraw the galvanized metal plates from
the galvanizing bath and to cause them to pass through sand. These two
operations require very little labour, all that is required being to throw into gear
a convenient clutch or coupling, which may be operated from a distance, so that
the health of the operatives need not be endangered by the deleterious gases rising
from the galvanizing baths.
In the accompanying drawings
Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively a side and a front elevation of the improved
apparatus.
Z is a receptacle or bath of trapezoidal shape in section which contains zinc,
kept (by any suitable means) in the melted state and filling the bath Z to the
working level =. Above this level is arranged a small basin or bath a somewhat
similar in shape to the vessel Z and containing the flux, which is thus situated
above the liquid zinc. Next to this small basin a is the sand S also placed above
the zinc. The object of the mechanism hereinafter described is to immerse the
sheets of metal to be galvanized in the zinc bath in such a manner that they pass
through the flux before entering the bath, and through the sand after leaving it.
The mechanical parts serving for each of these two operations are substantially
alike; they are hooks upon which the sheets or plates of metal to be galvanized
are placed, and which are themselves supported by frames suspended from movable
links or rods.
The introducing frame i.e. that which serves to immerse the plates or sheets into
the zinc bath may be formed by two flat iron bars AB, A B, guided by iron
guides dd supported by three-legged supports ff. (tripods) secured to the ground.
These bars are connected by two cross-bars D D¹, and at their lower ends are
provided two openings in which the ends or journals ee¹ of a rectangularly bent
bar C C C C are adapted to turn. This bar forms an inner oscillating frame
which may be secured to the cross bar D₁ by means of the fork oscillating
between two stops on a fixed pivot secured to the cross-bar D' and capable of
engaging with the yoke-shaped piece C attached to the frame CC₁C" C. This
frame carries five hooks GGG GG, whereof four are formed as shown in
Fig. 2, these being the first and the last two GG' G'G' which are rigidly secured

page_text: to the upper part or bar C'C" of the bent frame CCC"C". The central
hook G is straight as shown in Fig. 2 and capable of turning in an opening
provided for the purpose in the upper part C₁C" of the frame and a second in the
cross-piece F which openings form a guiding sleeve for the said hook G' terminating
in a handle at the top. When the plate or sheet of metal is placed against the
lower ends of the five hooks, it is sufficient to turn the handle of the hook G' by
hand to keep the sheet of metal firmly in place.
The other hooks G G G G are secured to the cross-bar C₁C" by means of
pins or set screws while the hook G' which is adapted to turn is not fixed, but
merely supported by a pin. These hooks should be capable of being readily
replaced, on account of the destructive action of the galvanizing bath. When the
frame C C C C is lowered, the hooks approach the vertical position and when
it attains the lower limit of its downward movement, the operative disengages the
fork C and moves the rocking frame over with the sheet of metal carried by it,
so that the latter tips slightly forward and coines to rest upon the four hooks G₁ of
the elevating frame which serve to lift it out of the bath. These are shaped as
shown in Fig. 1 and secured to two cross-pieces D, D₁ forming part of the elevating
frame which is guided in the same way as the introducing frame by guides d₁ and
similarly suspended from two rods or links H₁.
To impart motion and arrest the links HH and H, H, these are suspended from
or jointed to levers I I, I, I, secured to shafts J, J₁, to the ends of which are
secured lever arms K K¹ also weighted extensions L L₁ counterbalancing the
levers I I₁, and their load.
The driving-shaft R of the apparatus carries two loose pulleys T, T₁, operated
by a counter shaft and two driving belts one of which is crossed, whereby the said
pulleys turn in opposite directions.
A friction or other clutch U placed between the pulleys T T' is adapted to be
operated by hand and enables the shaft R to be coupled with either of the pulleys T
thereby causing the shaft to turn in either direction at will.
Near the ends of this shaft are screw-threads, respectively right and left
handed, projecting from the surface of the shaft. Sleeves M M₁, prevented from
rotating with the driving shaft R by any suitable device, serve as nuts for these
screw-threaded portions of the shaft, and under the action of the threads are
adapted to approach or recede from one another according as the rotation of the
shaft R, is in one or the other direction. When by such a movement the screw
threads issue from the sleeves at either end the motion of the sleeves is arrested;
but the springs and bearing against the collars & fixed on the shaft R
constantly press these nuts or sleeves against the ends of the screw-threaded
portions of the shaft R so that when the motion of this shaft is reversed, the said
screw-threaded parts immediately re-engage in the said nuts and the two sleeves
resume movement in the opposite direction.
[
The length of each of the said screw-threaded parts should be predetermined in
such a manner that the motion ceases automatically as soon as the sheets of metal are
on the one hand completely immersed in the zinc-bath or on the other are wholly
withdrawn from it.
Upon these sleeves are provided projections or studs 'p, p, q, q', between which
are arranged the ends of the levers K K, which consequently partake of the motion
of the sleeves, and according to the direction in which this motion takes place
raise or lower the hooked frames which carry the plates or sheets of metal.
If the distance apart of the two studs pp were the same as that between qq
the movements of the two frames viz. the immersing-fraine and the extracting frame
would always take place simultaneously whether at the time of immersion or
emersion of the metal sheet. This is not so, however, because of the difference
between those distances as that between the studs pp is greater than tha
between gg. Thence it follows that the upward movement of the levers I doe
not commence till the other levers 11, have commenced to rise, so that the hooks G
by which the metal sheet is removed from the bath, have risen a distance of abou

page_text: 20 inches before the other hooks commence to rise; whereby the danger is avoided
of the sheet metal raised by one set of hooks being caught by the other set of
books as they rise from the galvanizing bath. To facilitate this extraction, I
place above the tank iron bars X bent in V shape and attached to squares Y,
which at the same time serve as guides for bars W connected by a cross piece w
which is pushed underneath the sheet of metal before the hooks are allowed to
re-descend.
The operation of the apparatus is most simple; when the hooks are out of the
bath, the rocking frame CCC" C drawn back by the operative will rest upon
the incline or upon trestles erected for the purpose. This enables the operative to
place a sheet of metal without difficulty upon these hooks and to fix it in position
by turning the handle hook G'. The workman then raises the oscillating frame
and fixes it in position by means of the fork C whereupon he throws the clutch U
into gear so as to cause both the immersing and extracting frames to descend into
the zinc bath. When the immersing frame arrives at the end of its downward
movement, the operative disengages the handle hook G² and the fork C³ and pushes
the oscillating frame forward so as to incline the sheet of metal towards the
extracting hooks and make it rest upon them.
After the sheet or plate of metal has remained immersed in the bath for a certain
space of time, the motion of the shaft R is reversed. The movable sleeve M₁
immediately acts upon the lever arm K, which raised the hooks G₁ which in their
turn raise the said sheet or plate of metal. When these hooks have risen to a
sufficient height to allow of the free passage of the other hooks G these latter
commence their upward movement. When these respective upward movements
are completed, the bars W are pushed underneath the sheet of metal extracted
from the bath, and the said sheet is made to slide upon those bars for the
purpose of its removal. At the same time, another operative in the manner
before stated places a fresh sheet or plate of metal upon the immersing-frame.
If preferred these operations may take place in succession and be performed
by one operative only; but generally the more advantageous plan is to have
them carried out simultaneously by two men.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is ;-
1. An apparatus for dipping iron sheets plates or other articles in a bath of
metal so constructed and arranged that it can be controlled and operated from
a distance by means of a clutch (U) rotating in one or the other direction a
shaft R with screwed ends operating at intervals of any required duration the
hooks or frames employed to dip the articles in the bath and take them out
one of such frames being reversible so as to facilitate the placing in it of the
articles which it has next to convey into the bath and the other withdrawing
from the bath the articles dipped without necessitating the use of rollers or
other like appliances substantially as described.
2. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete
apparatus for galvanizing sheet metal substantially as described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 17th day of November 1893.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.