Year: 1887

page_text: I JOHN SHARPLESS WORTH of Coatesville in the County of Chester in the State
of Pennsylvania United States of America Rolling Mill Proprietor 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, that
is to say:
My Invention relates to cranes or hoists in which the winch, steam or hydraulic
cylinder or other hoisting appliance is stationary in contra-distinction to those in
which the hoisting device travels on the jib of the crane the object of my invention
heing to so construct such a crane that the load may be readily traversed from
and towards the post of the crane without any change in the vertical position of
said load.
This object I attain in the manner which I will now proceed to describe reference
being had to the accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 is a side view of a crane having hoisting mechanism constructed in
accordance with my Invention.
Figure 2. is a plan view of the crane and Figures 3 to 6 are diagrams illustrating
other forms of crane or hoist embodying my Invention.
Cranes in which the hoisting device is mounted upon and traversed to and fro on
the jib of the crane are objectionable because the weight of such hoisting device
interferes with the free traverse of the same to and fro on the jib and where the
hoisting device is a steam Cylinder travelling on the jib there is the further objection
that flexible tubing must be employed to convey the steam to said Cylinder which
tubing is rapidly destroyed and must be frequently replaced.
In carrying out my Invention therefore I discard the mounting of the hoisting
device on the jib so that it is moveable to and fro thereon and I use a fixed hoisting
device in connection with a peculiar system of carrier pulleys whereby the load
may be moved to or from the post of the crane without any change in its vertical
position.
As shewn in figure 1. A represents the vertical post of the crane which is provided
at top and bottom with pivots intended to be adapted to any available sockets so that
the post is free to swing on its axis.
The projecting jib of the crane comprises in the present instance opposite side
beams B securely bolted to the vertical post A and stiffened by braces D.

page_text: To a hearing on the post A is adapted the shaft of a winch a on which is wound
the hoisting rope which passes over a series of carrier pulleys bd and fand being
provided at its outer pendent end with any suitable means for attaching thereto the
object to be lifted.
The shaft of the pulley is adapted to fixed bearings c on the jib of the cranc and
the said shaft is connected by arms g to the shaft of the intermediate pulley & which
latter shaft is connected by arms h to the shaft of the outer pulley the latter
being provided with wheels i running on tracks on the beams B forming the jib of
the crane.
By this arrangement the outer pulley may be moved freely from and towards the
inner pulley without slackening or drawing upon that portion of the rope between
the pulleys and f for as the pulley fis moved inward the pulley d rises to take up
any slack which might otherwise be formed and as the pulley f is drawn outward, the
pulley d descends to deliver the slack which it took up on its rise no change in the
vertical position of the weight resulting from the moving the same in or out.
The weight of the load being exerted with equal force upon the pulleys bd and f
has no tendency to depress the central pulley and the weight of the latter and of the
and his counterbalanced by means of a weight or arm m secured to the shaft
arms
of the pulley b.
In figure 3 I have shown my Invention applied to a crane in which a steam or
hydraulic Cylinder a' takes the place of the winch shown in Figure 1 the pivots of
the post A in this case being hollow for the reception of the steam and exhaust pipes.
In this case, also, the shaft of the pulley bis adapted to bearings c beneath the jib of
the crane instead of above the same, as in Figure 1, the arm being lengthened to
correspond with this change in the position of the pulley.
This construction provides for greater range of movement than that shown in
Figure 1. Where an extreme range of movement is required, however, the system
of carrier pulleys and connecting arms may be multiplied as shown in Figure 4 for
instance in which there are two sets of Carrier pulleys b d and fand band f' and
two sets of connecting arms g h and gh. The adjacent ends of the arms h and g' in
this construction are connected by a frame a whereby they are always maintained
in the same relation to each other, and this frame carries an idle pulley p intermediate
of the pulleys and 6 the rope passing beneath this pulley p.
The arms ghgh may be connected by an intermediate series of pivoted arms s so
as to cause them to move in unison, but this is not absolutely essential.
A minor advantage of my invention is that the outer carrier pulley can be projected
to the extreme end of the jib of the crane, so that the hoisting rope or chain hangs
down beyond the end of said jib whereby the weight can be readily tranferred from
said rope or chain to that of an adjoining crane.
b
Although I have shown the hoisting device as carried by the vertical post of the
crane, this is not essential to my invention for instance, the pulley & may be replaced
by a hoisting drum as shown by dotted lines in Figure 3, said drum being operated
by a small engine or having power otherwise suitably applied thereto.
Besides the advantage of ready manipulation possessed by my improved crane as
compared with those having the hoisting devices movable on the jib the said improved
crane is of cheaper construction the parts being of the simplest character and no
expensive fitting being required.
The power of the hoisting device may as in an ordinary crane, be increased by the
use of a double rope looped for the reception of a pulley, to which the load is
suspended, double pulleys and being used in this case and one of the inner ends
of the rope passing round and being secured adjacent to the pulley or drum 6 while
the other of said inner ends is connected to the hoisting device.
My improved arrangement of carrier pulleys can be used on a fixed or travelling
beam or girder in a mill or other structure, as well as on the jib of a swinging crane,
as will be readily understood. In Fig. 5 for instance I have illustrated a special form
of hoist embodying my invention.

page_text: In this case there is a secondary longitudinal supporting beam B' parallel with the
beams B, and a third transverse supporting structure B² secured at one end to a
wheeled frame n running on the beam B₁, and at the opposite end to a wheeled
frame running on the beams B.
There are two sets of pulleys b, d, f, and b¹ d¹ f¹, two sets of arms gh and g¹ h¹ and
an intermediate idle pulley p carried by the frame n as in Fig. 4, but the second set
of arms and pulleys are at right angles to the first, the outer pulley f¹ traversing
the transverse supporting structure B³ and the pulley f traversing the longitudinal
beams B.
By means of this structure the load can be handled at any point within the area
of a quadrangle of which the beams B, B₁ are the opposite sides, the rope being
operated by a stationary engine or other suitable motor located at X'.
In Fig. 6, I have shown a multiple arrangement of pulleys of a simpler character
than that shown in Figure 4 a single pulley p located beneath the beam replacing the
moveable frame with its three pulleys shown in the latter figure.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1st. The combination of the supporting beam and hoisting rope or chain of a crane
or hoist with an inner drum or pulley an outer pulley an intermediate pulley and
arms connecting the shafts of said pulleys whereby as the outer pulley is moved
towards or from the inner drum or pulley, tho intermediate pulley is caused to rise
or fall all substantially as hereinbefore described.
2nd. The combination of the supporting beam and the hoisting rope or chain, inner
outer and intermediate pulleys arms connecting the shafts of the same and a weighted
counterbalance arm all substantially as hereinbefore described.
3rd. The combination of the supporting beam and the hoisting rope or chain an
inner drum or pulley an outer pulley a series of intermediate pulleys and arms
connecting the shafts of the pulleys all substantially as hereinbefore described.
4th. The combination of the supporting beam and the hoisting rope or chain an
inner drum or pulley an outer pulley a series of intermediate pulleys a moveable frame
carrying the central pulleys of said series, and arms connecting the shafts of the
various pulleys all substantially as hereinbefore described.
5th. The combination of the supporting structure of a crane or hoist comprising
fixed longitudinal beams and a moveable transverse beam a hoisting rope or chain
and two sets of carrier pulleys one mounted on one of the longitudinal beams and the
other on the transverse beam and each set comprising an inner an outer and an
intermediate pulley and arms connecting the shafts of said pulleys all substantially as
hereinbefore described.
6th. The combination of the post and jib of a crane the hoisting rope or chain,
inner, outer and intermediate pulleys carried by the jib, arms connecting the shafts
of said pulleys, and a hoisting appliance carried by the fixed framework of the crane
all substantially as hereinbefore described.
7th. The combination of the pivotted post of the crane and its jib, the hoisting rope
or chain, inner, outer and intermediate pulleys carried by the jib, arms connecting
the shafts of said pulleys, and a hoisting cylinder or engine carried by the fixed
framework of the crane, and receiving its supply of motive fluid through a hollow
pivot of said post all substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 30th day of December 1887