US1557784A - Car feeder - Google Patents

Description

Patented Oct. 20, 1925.

- UNITED STATES ROY s. SHABPNACK, or BILL-men., PENNSYLVANIA.'

CAR FEEDER.

Application led June 21, 1924. lSerial No. 721,490.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that 1, Rev S. SHARPNAGK, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Dilliner, in the county of Greene and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful lmprovement in Car Feeders; and l do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof.

My invention relates to car feeders, and

particularly to means yfor positively controlling movement of cars past a point of loading such as a coal tipple.

My invention has Jfor its object `the provision of means, whereby cars or other vehicles may be advanced past a loading station, while at the same time provision is made to insure that the car will not advance farther than desired.

One form which my invention may take is shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a view showing one manner in which my invention may be employed in connection with the loadingof cars at a tipple; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View of a portion of the apparatus of Fig.

1, on an enlarged scale; and Fig. 3 is `a view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the operating mechanism. y

1n order to clearly vdescribe my invention I have shown an open-top car 4 that is to be moved to the right along railroad tracks 5, beneath a chute 6 of a coal tipple 7. According to the usual practice, the track 5 is inclined slightly so that under favorable conditions the car will advance to the right under the action of gravity, upon release of the brakes, not shown, the brakes being intermittently released as the car is being loaded so that the load is distributed throughout the length of the car.

However, at times the cars will not move readily, owing to the presence of loose coal on the track, or faulty lubrication, in which case it has been customary to advance the car with pinch bars. Whether the car is caused to advance simply by releasing the brakes or by pinch bars, there is always danger of it advancing a too 'great distance before the brakes can be applied.

My invention comprises means for effectively controlling the movement of the car by power means, which is under control of an operator, for advancing the car, which same means serves also to retard the movement of the car Upon release of the motive force.

The apparatus comprises a bracketmember S bolted to an upright 9 of the tipple 7 and provided with bearings for a shaft'10 upon which shaft are' rigidly secured the worm gear 11 and a winding drum'12..

I mount a shaft 13 at right angles to the shaft 10. A wormf14, meshing` with'the gear wheel 11,'is secured'to the shaft'13 and a crank 15 is provided for rotating the shafts 13 and 10.. Instead of the'crank 15 I may provi-de a motor for rotating the shaft 13 under control of the operator or load trimmer who stands on-the platform Beneath the drum 12 I mount a pair of sheaves 17, only one of which is .shown in the drawing. The sheave 17 isisupported by a bracket 18 that is in turn yieldingly supported upon an upright 9 by a bolt 1'9 and a spring 20 which is interposed between the upright 9 and the fixed washer 21 on the bolt 19. At a point remote from the tipple 7 I provide an anchoring post 22 through which extends a swivel bolt 23 that is provided at its outery end with a lined washer 24 that serves as a seat for one end of a spring 25, the other end of `which. seats against the post 22. A sheave or pulley 26 'is pivotally supported by' thebolt A. cable 27 iswound around the drum 12 a plurality of times from opposite sides thereof, so that as the drum is rotated the amount of cable wound thereon will be equal to the amount paid out. Each of the reversely wound portions of the cable may pass around the guiding sheaves 17 and around the end sheave 26.

To each side of the pulley 26 I mount one or more loosely supported couplings 27a, each of which comprises a hook supported by links from a chain link 28, the chain link 28-being connected through links 29 and pins 30 to a sleeve 31 that `is in turn connected to the cable 27 by a hook bolt 32 and a spring 33 seated between the one end of the sleeve and a washer 34 on the inner end of the hook bolt 32.

1n Fig. 1 a car is shown in loading position and connected to one of the hooks 27 a, while theI other hook 27il is in position to be connected to an empty car, not shown. The car 4 is advanced by means of the worm drive 'i4- 11, upon rotation of the crank 15 in the proper direction. Should the car tend to move without the application of .any torce to the handle i5, such movement willbe retarded by reason oil the fact that the Worm drive will act as a brake. Thus the movement of the car can be definitely controlled regardless of whether it moves under its own momentum or requires the application of power.

Vhen the car 4 has been advanced completely beneath the chute .6, the coupling 27u is disengaged therefrom and the other coupling 27L is connected to an empty car, .whereupon the crank 15 is` turned in the reverse direct-ion, to advance lthe second named 4coupling 27a with the car. During `thisadvance movement, that coupling 27a` which has jfust beendisengaged from the car 4 isof leourse `caused tobe retracted to a. po-

sition 'for engagement with another empty It will be Sleen thatthe cable 27 is substantially continuous, -rbeing' interrupted .only by the insertion of the couplings 27, but it `willbe understood that it may be divided and its ends oppositely wound upon the drum 12..

By my invention I provide ameanswheren bythe car is definitely under control of the ,operator or load trimmer, and he need not leave his station to either operate the brakes of the car or ,to use a pinch bar or other `means to .advance it. Further, no delay is encountered through ycall of assistance to .move .a car vwhich tai-ls `to advance upon releas'e .of the brakes.

,It vwill be understood that but a single coupling '27a is required, Aor that more than two ycouplings may .be employed. The placi-ng ratcouplings at `each side of fthe sheave v2.6l results in asaving of time to the operator, as during advancement of one car the other (-:ouplingismoving rearwardly lin position to advance another car. Further it is not essential that the cable be wound around the drum a plurality of times, if means be provided Jfor preventing slipping thereof. Y

Various modifications in detail and gen eral arrangement may be made without departingl from the spirit and scope of the invention as dened in the accompanying cl-aims.

I claim as my invention :V Y v 1. Car feeding apparatus comprising a winding drum, a cable having portions thereof reversely wound o-n said drum, a iixedly mounted sheave arou-nd which the cable passes, a coupling member secured to said cable intermediate the said drum and sheave, and a worm drive for said-drum, to serve both as an advancing and as arretarding device.

2. Car feeding apparatus comprising a supporting' bracket adapted to be mounted above aI track along which cars are to be moved, .a winding` drum mounted on said support, a. guiding sheave disposed at a point beneath said support, a` guiding s heave horizontally removed from said i'irst-named slieave and adjacent to the track along which -cars are to be moved, a `cable extending around said sheaves and reversely Wound on said drum, a coupling member secured to said cable at ya point between said sheaves, and a worm drive for said drum, servi-ng both as an advancing and a retard-V ing` medium for .oars being moved.

In testimony whereof I, the said ROY S. SiaARrNAcK, have hereunto set my hand. yROY S. SHARPNACK.

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