US1689466A - Car-caging device - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 30, 1926. j 1,689,466

T. E. WEETHEE CAR (.JAGING DEVICE Filed Sept- 15. 1927 Y 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 30, 1928. 1,689,466

'r. E. WEETHEE CAR CAGINGHDEVICE Filed Sept- 15. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 53' 1 YVLW/HO 77, a 7/ 3 M "loaded car.

Patented Oct. 30, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE...

THOMAS E. WEETHEE, OF DACONO, COLORADO, ASS'IGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THE "CON- SOLIDATED COAL AND COKE COMPANY, OF DENVER, COLORADO, .A. CORPORATION OF COLORADO.

Application filed September This invention relates to improvements in caging devices of the type employed in coal and other deep mines where the coal cars are hoisted to the surface of the ground bymeans of elevators or hoists.

In mines of all kinds, and especially in coal mines where mining is done at some distance below the surface of the ground and in which the products of the mine must behoisted, it iscustomary to load the coal or other material onto mine cars which are then transferred over tracks to a hoist. This hoist usually consists of two cages that are interconnected in such a way that when one moves upwardly,

the other one moves downwardly. \Vhen one of thecages is at its lowermost position, one of the mine cars is loaded onto this cage and the hoist is'then operated so as to raise this car to the surface. When this cage is moving up wardly,the-other cage is moving downwardly and carries an empty car, which serves as a counterweight for the cage that carries the In some mines the cars are directed onto the cage by manual labor which requires the attendance of several men at the bottom of the shaft. In other mines, however, some caging device is employedthat facilitates the operation of caging the cars.

It the object of this invention to produce a mechanism by means of which the caging of cars at the bottom of a mine shaft will become practically automatic so as to require the attendance of only one person whose sole duty is to disconnect the cars and to be present in case an unexpected difficulty should arise.

My invention, briefly described, consists in thecombination of two interconnected cages, means for simultaneously raising one and lowering the other and two parallel tracks which terminate at the edge of the sump at the bottom of the shaft and which support loaded cars, together with means for holding these cars against movement and means rotatedby the downward movement of the cages for releasing one of the cars and for directing it onto the cage. that is at its lowermost position, together with means for preventing any further release of cars on that track until the cage has been to the top and has returned to its bottommost position.

The above'invention can be most clearly described and willbemostreadily understood if reference is had to the accompanying draw- 15, 1927. Serial No. 219.665.

ings in which the preferred embodiment thereof has been illustrated and in which:

Fig. l is a plan view showing the two parallel tracks'at the-bottom of the mine, the-two snmps at the. bottom of the cage shafts and showing also one of the cages in position to receive a mine car;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along line 22, Fig. 1, and shows, in addition, a mine car held in the position it occupies just before it is released by the downward movement of the cage;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of that portion of the tracks that is adjacent to the sumps the parts being shown to a somewhat larger scale than the corresponding parts in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the part shown in 3 and shows the interlock mechanism in the opposite position from that which it occupies in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 55, Fig. 3, and indicates by dotted lines the position of the trip lever that is engaged by the cages when they return to the bottom of the shaft;

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 66, Fig. 3, and shows the means for locking the interlock mechanism inneutral position;

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 77, Fig. 4, and shows the means whereby the interlock mechanism is shifted whenever a car is transferred to one of the cages;

Fig. 8 is a section takenon line 8-8, Fig. 3, and shows one of the car stops in operative position;

Fig. 9 is a section takenon line 99, F and shows the mechanism by means of which the car feeder mechanism is controlled as the cars move along thetrack;

Fig. 10 is a horizontal section through the mechanism that controls the operation of the car feeding deviceand shows the-clutch in section;

Fig ll is a view to a somewhatenlarged scale of the upper surface of one end of the car feeding mechanism and is taken looking in the direction of arrow 11, in Fig.2;

Fig. 12 is a section taken on line 1212, Fig.11, and I Fig. '13 is a sectiontaken on line. 1313, Fig. 12.

In the drawings numerals 1 and 2 represent the sumps at the bottom'of the mine shaft and numeral 3 indicates one of the cages which has been shown in its lowermost position. Numeral 4 represents the guides which direct the movement of the cage as it moves upwardly and downwardly.

The mechanism by means of which the cages are operated has not been shown for the reason that this has nothing to do with the invention as any old and well known hoisting mechanism is employed for the purpose of operating the cages. Attention is called, however, to the fact that the cages 3 are connected by means of cables which run over a drum located at the top of the shaft and to each end of which a cage is connected so that when one occupies the position shown in the drawing, the other one is at its uppermost position where the mine cars are unloaded. In Fig. 2 1 have shown a mine car which has been indicated by reference numeral 5.

At the bottom of the mine two tracks 6 are provided. These tracks are of the ordinary mine railway construction and the rails are secured to and rest on the upper surface of ties 7. Located between the two rails of each track is a car feeding mechanism which has been indicated as a whole by reference numeral 8 and which will hereafter be described more in detail. That section of the tracks which has been indicated. by A has a slight upward inclination and merges into a short section B which is preferably level and from the end of section B tl it part which has been designated by letter C h as a downward inclination and terminates at the edge of one of the sumps. These tracks extend into the mine as far as may be desired, but the only parts that are concerned with my invention have been shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Supporting posts 9 and 10 have been shown at the line separating the two sumps. These posts carry a shaft 11, one end of which is journalled in a suitable bearing in post 9 and the other end of which passes entirely through post 10 and terminates in a crank disk 12 that carries a crank pin 13. Carried by the shaft 11 is a trip bar 14, whose shape has been shown by dot and dash lines in Fig. 5 from which it will be seen that the ends 15 are curved in the same direction. The center portion of the trip bar 14 lies at right angles to a diameter that intersects the crank pin 13 at a point half way between its ends in the manner shown in Fig. 5. Secured to the under side of the adjacent rails of the two tracks are guides having a downwar dly extending part 16 that has an opening through which the transverse bar 17 of the interlock mechanism passes and through which the bars 18 also pass. It will be observed from Fig. 5 that the bar 17 has a U-shaped member 19 secured to the side that is adjacent the crank disk 12 and which projects over the crank pin 13 so that the latter will engage the parallel sides 20 of the U-shaped member as the shaft 11 is rotated about its axis. The bar 17 carries two upwardly extending projections 21 which are adapted to cooperate with the ends of the locking members 22 so as to interlock bars 17 and 13 when they move in one direction, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. The bars 18 extend entirely across the tracks and have their ends pivotally connected at 23 to the outer ends of the arms 24 of the bell cranks, which are pivoted at 25. The other arms 26 of these bell cranks are pivoted at 27 to connecting rods 23, whose other ends are pivotally connected at 29 to the outer ends of the arms 30 of the bell cranks that are pivoted at 31, and whose other arms 32 are pivoted at 33 to connecting rods 34 that extend across the tracks and have their other ends pivoted at 35 to the lower ends 36 of the stops 37 that rotate about the shafts 38. The shafts 38 are journalled in bearings 39 and a coil spring 40 separates one side of the car stop 37 from one of the hearings in the manner shown most clearly in F ig. 3. The function of spring 40 is to permit the stops 37 to yield when they receive the impact due to the moving car which they are designed to stop in a manner which will be hereinafter more fully described.

A shaft 41 is j ournalled in bearings in the flanges of the rails and carries two cam members 42 and 43 which project in substantially opposite directions in the manner indicated in Fig. 3. These cam members are so arranged that when one of them has its upper surface at the level of the upper surface of the rail with which it is associated, in the manner shown in Fig. 6, the other cam member will project above the top of the rail in the manner shown in Fig. 2. Shaft 41 also carries two crank arms 44 and 45, one of which projects upwardly and the other of which projects downwardly in the. manner shown in Figs. 3 and 6. Pivotally connected to the outer end of each of these crank arms are connecting rods 46 and 47, whose other ends are pivotally connected to the pins 22 that slide in the openings provided in heads 48 that form part of the rods 18. A lever 49 is also secured to the shaft 41 and extends through the slot that is formed between the two parallel sides of the guide member 50. Arm 49 is provided with a hole 51 and the arms of the guide member are also provided with holes 52. These holes are so re lated that they can be brought into register so that av pin may be passed through the holes 52 and through the hole 51, thereby locking the shaft 41 against rotation in such a position that the pins 22 will not project through the heads 48, but will be held in neutral position so that they cannot cooperate with the projections 21. The purpose of this will be made clear as the description proceeds. Normally the handle 49 is free to move and it is apparent that when a car passes over the rail with which one of the cams 42 or 43 is associated that the weight of the car wheel will force this cam downwardly in case its upper surface projects over the upper surface of the rail. In Fig. 3 the cam 43 is shown projecting upwardly above the rail surface, whereas cam 42 is located so that its upper surface is flush with the upper surface of the rail in the .manner shown in Fig. 6. If a car is released on the track X, with which cam 43 is associated, it will force this cam downwardly, thereby rotating the shaft 41 in such a position that the pin 22 that is shown extended will be retracted and the corresponding pin 22 on the other side will be projected into the position shown by the pin nearest track X in Fig. 3. With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 3, it is not possible for the pin 22 adjacent track Y to be projected as it will hit the side of lug 21, but in actualoperation the crank disk 12'is rotated through an angle of substantially ninety degrees whenever one of the cages comes down to its lowermost position and the parts are so related that when the shaft 41 is rotated by means of a car, the rod 17 will be in the proper position to permit the pins 22 to be reciprocated in the manner described. This will all appear when the operation of the device is described in detail as it willbe'hereina fter.

Secured to the outer rail of each of the tracks between the shaft 41 and the edge of the cage pits is a cam 53 that is secured to the shaft 54. This shaft has one end journalled in a bearing in the rail and the other journalled inthe bearing 55. The outer end of shaft 54 carries a crank arm 56 to which is pivotally connected a rod 57. The other end of this rod is pivoted at 58 to a. pin secured to the connecting rod 28 at 59. When the car stops 37 are moved from operative to inoperative position bythe action of the cages striking the ends of arm 14, a. car is released and moves downwardly along the incline section G towards the cage. As the car moves it strikes either the cam 42, or the cam 43, depending on which of the tracks the car is located. As the car passes over cams 42 or 43, it disconnects the interlock mechanism by withdrawing the pin 22 in the manner above described. As the car moves farther towards the cage, it will strike the cam 53 and move this cam downwardly, thereby rotating the shaft 54 in such a way as to move the connecting rod 28 towards the left in Fig. 3 and thereby causing the car stop 37 to be moved into operative position so as to prevent another car from following on the same track. 7

Pivoted to one of the rails of each track is a cam 60. This cam is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 9 and rests on the free end of the arm 61 that is secured to one end of the shaft 62. This shaft is journalled in bearings 68 and its otherend carries an arm 64 that is engaged by one end of the lever 65 (Fig. 10). Lever 65 is pivoted at 66 to the end of a bracket 67. This bracket is secured to the end of a box 68 that contains a clutch and transmission mechanism which will shortly be describe ;l. A rod 69 extends through an opening in the end-of the box 68 and carries a head 70 which is connected to the lever'65'by means of a pin 71 that passes through an elongated slot in the lever. A

spring 72 has one end anchored in an opening in lug 73 and the other end secured to the lever 65. This spring is under tension and tends to move thelever towards the box in the manner shown in Fig.10. Located within the box is a bearing within which is journalled a shaft 75, one end of this shaft carries a clutch member 76 and a collar is secured to the shaft at the other end of the bearing 74. The collar and a shoulder 'adj acent the clutch member 76 .preventthe shaft 7 5 from moving longitudinally in the bearing. Shaft 7 5 is hollow and forms a bearing for the smaller shaft 77. Shaft '77 extends entirely through the box 68 that is located in track X and carries a belt wheel 78 to which power is transmitted from the motor 79 by means of the belt 80 in the manner shown in Fig. 1. hen the device is in operation shaft 77 is constantly rotating. Secured to the shaft 77 within each of the boxes 68 is a clutch member '81 that is slidably connected to the shaft, butisheld against rotation by means of a spline in the ordinary manner. Clutch member 81 has ahub'82 that is provided with a groove 83 for the reception of a collar or ring 84. A yoke member 85 is pivoted at 86 and is connected .to the collar so that when this yoke member is oscillated about its pivot, it will move its clutch member 81 longitudinally on shaft 77 from operative to inoperative position. The free end of yoke member 85 is connected to the inner end of the rod 69 by means of a pivot pin 87. It will be observed from Fig. 10 that the spring 72 exerts a force tending to move the clutch member 81 into engagement with the clutch member 76 and when the parts are in the position shown. in this figure the rotation of shaft 77 will be communicated to shaft 75 through the friction clutch in a manner quite obvious from the drawing. Shaft 75 carries a. worm 88 that engages a worm gear 89 which is secured to which will therefore be moved downwardly by the force exerted thereon by the car. This downward movement of the cam 60 will to tate the shaft 62 in such a way that the arm 64 will move the lever 65 in such a direction as to extend the spring 72. This n'iovement will rotate the yoke member 65 about its pivot so as to disconnect the clutch member 81 "from the clutch member 76 and whenever this occurs the shat't will cease rotating and as a result the chain 92 will stop moving. The chain 92 is an endless chain and passes around the sprocket wheels 91 and. corresponding sprocket wheels 93 at the other end. Secured to the chain 92, at spaced intervals, are brackets 94 to which dogs or pawls 95 are pivotally connected by means o'l bolts 96. The brackets are of the shape shown in Fig. 13 and have one end welded to one oil the links or the chain 92 in the manner indicated by numeral 97 in Fig. 13. The other end of the brackets is provided with a lug 98 that rests on one of the links of the chain. but is not secured to the link. The pawls 95 have an opening into which the brackets 94 projects and are provided with heavy lugs 99 that over-balance the weight of the upper end of the pawls so as to normally hold them in the position shown in Figs. 11, 12 and 13. The bottom of the lugs 99 will therefore slide along the upper surface of the angle irons 100 which form guides for the chains 92. At point 101, Fig. 11, an angle iron 102 is secured in inverted position to the guide angle 100 in the manner shown in Fig. 12. When the pawls reach the point 101, the lugs 99 will be raised upwardly and will slide on top of the angle 102, thereby rotating the pawls into the position shown by dot and dash lines in Fig. 13. The angle 102 extends the entire distance of the car mo ing device and terminates adjacent the sprocket wheel 93 at a point indicated by 103, in Fig. 1. The cars are provided with downwardly projecting lugs which will. be engaged by the pawls 95 when they are in the position shown in full lines in Figs. 12 and 13, but will not be engaged by the pawls when they are in the position shown by dot and dash lines in Fig. 13, and therefore they can only move the cars in one direction along the track.

In Figs. 1 and 3 I have shown spring members 104 that have one end firmly secured to the ties in the manner indicated by reference numeral 105 and which have their other ends pivotally connected with links 106. These links are pivoted to the arms 30 at 29 in the manner shown most clearly in 3. The parts are so proportioned that the links 106 and the arms 30 form a toggle that will pass through neutral position whenever the car stops 37 are moved from operative to inoperative position, the former position being shown in Fig. 3 and the latter position being shown in Fig. 4. When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 3, the force exerted by springs 104 tends to hold the stops in operative position and when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 4, the force exerted by springs 104 tends to hold the car steps 37 in inoperative position. The object of providing the springs 104 is to prevent the stops "from being accidentally moved by some slight force that might be communicated to the mechanism unintentionally.

The operation of this device is as follows: Let us assume that the tracks X and Y extend into the mine for some distance and that a train of cars is located on each track. These cars are the usual mine cars and are coupled by means of a link and a pin in the usual manner. That part of the track which has not been shown may be flat or inclined forwardly to a slight extent. Let us now assume that this train of cars is moved by hand or by any other force until the first car comes over the car moving mechanism 8 a sufficient distance to permit it to be engaged by one of the pawls 95. This car will then be moved forwardly towards the cages and will also move the entire train of cars which is coupled to it. This movement of the train will continue until the leading car gets into such a position that one of its wheels will rest on the cam 60, when the clutch mechanism shown in Fig. 10 will be disconnected in the manner previously explained. The further movement of the train of cars will now cease and the operator will uncouple the leading car from the train. This car will now be in the position shown in Fig. 2 and will rest against the stop 37. From Fig. 2 it will be observed that the section of the track upon which the car stands when it rests against the stop 37 is inclined slightly towards the cages so that it the stop 37 is removed. the action of gravity will operate to cause the car to roll downwardly towards the cage.

Vie will now suppose that one car like that indicated by numeral 5 rests against the car stop 87 on each track and we will furthermore assume that the hoisting mechanism is put into operation so as to raise the cage 3 that is shown in its lowermost position in Fig. 1 and consequently lower the other cage. WVhen the other cage or the one that corresponds to the sump 1, reaches its lowermost position, it will strike the upper end of the trip bar 14 and rotate shaft 11 in such a direction that the bar 17 will move from the position shown in 3 to that shown in Fig. 4. As the pin 22 that is nearest to track X is projected, the lug 21 on bar 17 will move the rod 18 inwardly in Fig. 3 until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 4. This movement will cause the bell crank lever having arms 24 and 26 to rotate about its pivot and move the connectingrod 28 towards the right, thereby rotating the other bell crank about its pivot 31, so as to move the rod 34 in such a direction lUlI that the car stop 37, to which it is connected, will be moved from operative to inoperative position. hen this occurs the car that is held on the track by this stop will start moving towards the cage. As soon as this car has moved a sufiici'ent distance to remove the weight from the cam 60, the action of the spring 72 will rotate the shaft 62 and close the clutch located in box (38, thereby making the car-moving mechanism operative for the purpose of moving the cars forwardly along the track. As soon as the car that has been released has passed far enough along sothat its rear wheel will be in front of the stop 37, it will strike the cam 43 and move the same downwardly, thereby rotating the shaft 41 so as to withdraw the pin 22 nearest the track on which the car is located and project the corresponding pin 22-, which will then occupy the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4. As the car moves forwardly it will engage the cam 53 and rotate the shaft 54 and thereby move the stop 37 into operative position, and move bar 18 outwardly to the position shown in Fig. 4. When the train of'cars has been moved by the car-moving mechanism so as to bring a carontocam 60, the clutch controlling that particular car-moving mechanism will be disconnected in the manner previously described. The car that has been released will now pass onto the cage which is in position to receive it and the hoisting mechanism will be reversed, raising the cage with the loaded car. to the top landing and lowering the other'cage with an empty car to the bottom landing. As this other cage approaches the bottom landing it will. engage the trip lever 14: and release a car on track Y in the same manner-as has just been de scribed. The caging of cars will now continue practically automatic and will only require the presence of an attendant for the purpose of removing the coupling pins and to be on hand in case of any unforeseen occurrence that may require attention.

In Fig. 2 I have shown the track section A as being slightly upwardly and forwardly inclined. This is the preferred construction as it prevents the movements of cars except when the car moving mechanism is in operation. It is possible, however, to make this section forwardly and downwardly inclined so that the cars will move by the action of gravity and when this is the construction employed, the pawls 95 must be reversed in such a way that they will act as stops that prevent the car from moving except when the cables 92 are in motion instead of pulling them along in the manner described above.

Although I have described a specific mechanism for the purpose of carrying out my invention, I want it understood that the various elements may be formed by mechanisms somewhat differently constructed and that I con sider that my invention resides more particularly in the combination of elements than in the specific construction of the elements themselvesand it is therefore my intention to claim this invention broadly as a combination of means for performing the desired result with he understanding that the specific construction of the means employed may be varied to suit the conditions prevailing at thedifferent installations.-

The level section of the track which has been marked B performs an important func tion as it slows down the front car so that the coupling chain will no longer be under tension whereby the operator can readily withdraw the coupling pin soas to detach the front car from the train of cars to which it was connected.

Having thus described my invention what is claimed as new is:

1-. A caging device comprising, in combination, a p air of interconnected cages adapted to move simultaneously, in opposite direction, between vertically separated levels, two spaced tracks on the lower level, said tracks being adapted to support a plurality of cars, a. car stop associated with each track, means operated by the downwardmovement of each cage for moving the stop associated with the corresponding track to inoperative position whereby a car is permitted to pass along the track towards the cage, means operated by the car as it moves towards the cage for moving the stop to operative position and means operated by the car as it moves towards the cage for rendering the cage controlled stop operating means inoperative for again'removing the stop until the other cage has been at its lowermost position.

2. A caging device comprising, in combination, two cages, means for simultaneously raising one cage and lowering the other, the cages being adapted to move between vertically spaced levels, a track on the lower level corresponding to each cage, a plurality of cars on each track, a power operated mechanism for moving the cars-towards the cages, a car stop associated with each track, means operated by the cages as they approach their lowermost position for moving the corresponding car stop towards inoperative position whereby acar is released andpermitted to move towards the cage, means operated-by the movement of the car for rendering the cage controlled car stop mechanism inoperative, means controlled by the movement of the car for returning the car stop to operative position and means controlled by the following car as it approaches the car stop for rendering the car moving mechanism lnoperative.

3. A caging device comprising, in combination, two cages, means for simultaneously raising one cage and for lowering the other, said cages moving between vertically spaced levels, two tracks on the lower level, one corresponding to each cage, a plurality of cars on each track, power operated mechamsm tor moving the cars along the track towards the cages, a car stop associated with each track, means operated by the car as it approaches the car stop for rendering the car-moving mechanism inoperative, means operated by the downward movement of each cage tor moving the car stop on the corresponding track to inoperative position whereby a car is released and permitted to move towards the cage, means for rendering the car-moving mechanism operative, and means operated by the car as it moves towards the cage for rendering the cage controlled car stop mechanism inoperative.

t. A caging device comprising, in combination, two cages, means for simultaneously raising one cage and for lowering the other, said cages moving between vertically spaced levels, two tracks on the lower level, one corresponding to each cage, a plurality of cars on each track, power operated mechanism for moving the cars along the track towards the cages, a car stop associated with each track, means operated by the car as it approaches the car stop for rendering the car-moving mechanism inoperative, means operated by the downward movement of each cage for moving the car stop on the corresponding track to inoperative position whereby a car is released and permitted to move towards the cage, means for rendering the car-moving mechanism operative, means operated by the car as it moves towards the cage for rendering the cage contr lled car stop mechanism inoperative, and means also operated by the movement of the car towards the cage for moving the car stop into operative position.

5. A car caging device comprising two interconnected cages adapted to move simultaneously in opposite directions between two vertically spaced levels, two tracks on the lower level, one track corresponding to each cage, said tracks having each a section adjacent the cage inclined downwardly towards the cage, a substantially horizontal section joinmg the inclined section, an inclined sectron joining the horizontal section, a power operated car moving mechanism associated with the last named inclined section, a car stop on. the downwardly inclined section and means comprising a cam located adjacent the car stop for rendering the car moving mechanism operative and inoperative.

6. A car caging device comprising two 1nterconnected cages adapted to move snnultaneously in opposite directions between two vertically spaced levels, two tracks on the lower level, one track corresponding to each cage, said tracks having each a section ad acent the cage inclined downwardly towards the cage, a substantially horizontal section joining the inclined section, an inclined sec tion joining the horizontal section, a power operated car moving mechanism assoclated with the last named inclined section, a car stop on the downwardly inclined section, means comprising a spring for normally maintaining the car-moving mechanism operative and means comprising a cam member located adjacent the car stop for rendering the car moving mechanism inoperative when a car is in position adjacent the car stop.

7. A car caging device comprising a car hoist having two cages which are interconnected by means which makes them move simultaneously in opposite directions between an upper and a lower landing, a track terminating adjacent the lower position of each cage, said tracks supporting a plurality of cars, power operated mechanism associated with each track for moving the cars towards the cages, a car stop associated with each track, means for normally maintaining the car moving mechanism operative, means associated with each track for rendering the car moving mechanism inoperative whenever a car is in position adjacent the car stop, means operated by the cages as they approach their lowermost position for moving the car stop on the corresponding track to inoperative position whereby a car is permitted to move towards the cage, means operated by the car as it moves towards the cage for rendering the cage controlled car stop means inoperative and means also operated by the movement of the car towards the cage for returning the stop to operative position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

THOMAS E. WEETHEE.

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