Improvements in Cranes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 12th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 14th Oct., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cranes.
We, JOHN MARSHALL JOHN FLEMING and ALEXANDER JACK of Dellburn
Works, Motherwell in the County of Lanark Engineers do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the manner in which we construct and arrange bearings
or supports for the upper end of pillars or posts, employed upon steam, wharf,
portable, whip, warehouse and other type cranes in which a revolving or slewing
motion is required. In carrying our invention into effect when constructing a crane
known as a "steam portable," we construct the body, frames, gearing jib and other
ordinary parts in any well known manner arranging a fixed or loose roller path
around the central post and providing any ordinary bottom bearing or stretcher for
the same.
The upper end of the post or pillar however we support in an improved
manner whereby we are enabled to provide, for easy adjustment of any wear of the
bearing and also permit of examination without requiring to dismantle the other
portions of the crane, the crane being kept at a constant height.
The upper end of the post we screw to receive a nut or adjustable externally
screwed collar and we cause this nut or collar to carry the upper girder which we
employ as the top support of the crane post, and to which we secure our side
frames of the crane. Thus when this screwed supporting collar or nut is turned
the side frames and all connected therewith are raised or lowered to take up any
wear which may have occured in the bearings; by this simple adjustment the cap
raises and lowers the crane and thus maintains the revolving members of the crane
at a constant or uniform height, and when motion is transmitted to a shaft passing
down through the post the teeth of the wheels driving this shaft are kept at the
proper depth in gear.
We prevent the nut or adjustable bearing cap from turning or working loose by
means of any well known key which is employed for preventing nuts from turning
in any ordinary piece of mechanism, or we drill a number of holes or form a grove
or series of groves through which we pass a set pin or set pins to enter a hole or
holes set within the post. To reduce the friction of the upper bearing we prefer
to employ a series of live rollers or balls or other well known antifriction rings,
and the upper end of the post we turn down or arrange to carry any dust cap
or shield for the exclusion of dust. We drill or form a hole through the post when
it is desired to pass a spindle through, and we modify the shape and arrangement
of the end nut and its bearing stretcher bar or member to suit any particular
requirement.
We do not limit the application of our invention to any particular type of name
but we arrange and modify the same to suit any crane having a central pillar or
post, without departing from the essential features of our invention as herein before
described when applied to an ordinary steam portable crane.
We make our improved adjustable caps with the thread to pass right through
the entire depth or partly through the nut as it may be desired for any particular
requirement.
Date o
1
1000
MARKS & CLERK,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in Cranes.
We, JOHN MARSHALL, JOHN FLEMING and ALEXANDER JACK, of Dellburn
Works, Motherwell, in the County of Lanark, Engineers, 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 the manner in which we construct and arrange bearings
or supports for the upper end of pillars or posts employed upon steam, wharf,
portable, whip, warehouse and other type crane in which a revolving or screwing
motion is required.
In the accompanying sheet of explanatory drawings,
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a portion of a crane and post showing one
form of our invention, and
Figure 2 is a similar view showing another form which we sometimes adopt.
In carrying our invention into effect when constructing a crane of the type
known as a steam portable, we construct the body, frames, gearing, jib and other
ordinary parts in any well known manner arranging a fixed or loose roller path
around the central post and providing any ordinary bottom bearing or stretcher
for the same.
The upper end of the post or pillar A, however, we support in an
improved manner whereby we are enabled to provide for easy adjustment of any
wear of the bearing B B¹ and also permit of examination without requiring to
dismantle the other portions of the crane, the crane thus being kept at a constant
height.
The upper end of the post A we screw to receive a nut or adjustable internally
screwed collar C and we cause this nut or collar to carry the upper girder D which
we employ as the top support of the crane post, and to which we secure our side
frame E of the crane. Thus when this screwed supporting collar or nut C is
turned the side frames and all connected therewith are raised or lowered to take up
any wear which may have occurred in the bearings; by this simple adjustment the
cap C raises and lowers the crane and thus maintains the revolving members of the
crane at a constant or uniform height, and when motion is transmitted to a shaft
such as F passing down through the post, the teeth of the wheels G G¹ driving this
shaft are kept at the proper depth in gear.
We prevent the nut or adjustable bearing cap C from turning or working loose
by means of any well known key which is employed for preventing nuts from
turning in any ordinary piece of mechanism, or we drill a number of holes or form
a groove or series of grooves such as H into which we fit a key piece or lock stud L;
or we pass a set pin or set pins to enter a hole or holes formed within the post.
To reduce the friction of the upper bearing we prefer to employ a series of live
rollers M as shown at Figure 2, or balls or other well known anti-friction rings,
and the upper end of the post we turn down or arrange to carry any dust cap or
shield or bearing piece N for the exclusion of dust. We drill or form a hole O
through the post when it is desired to pass a spindle through, and we modify the
shape and arrangement of the end nut C and its bearing against or within the
girder stretcher bar or cross member D to suit any particular requirement.
We do not limit the application of our invention to any particular type of crane,
but we arrange and modify the same to suit any crane having a central pillar or
post, without departing from the essential features of our invention as hereinbefore
described when applied to an ordinary steam portable crane.
We make our improved adjustable caps with the thread to pass right through
the entire depth, or only partly through the nut as it may be desired for any
particular requirement.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The combination and arrangement of an adjustable bearing nut and locking
device for attachment to a crane post, substantially as and for the purposes herein-
before described.
2. In a crane the construction of a central post or pillar such as A with a thread
or screwed surface such as a for receiving an adjustable nut or cap such as C,
substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described and as illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.
3. The construction and arrangement of bearing caps such as C capable of being
adjusted upon a crane post such as A by means of the internal thread formed
within the caps substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in
Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 11th day of September 1893.
MARKS & CLERK,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicants.