US2634005A - Vehicle unloading platform for large cylindrical bodies - Google Patents

Description

April 7, 1953 w. GIBSON 2,534,005

VEHICLE UNLOADING PLATFORM FOR LARGE CYLINDRICAL. BODIES Filed March 28, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Apr. 7, 1,953

VEHICLE UNLOADING PLATFORM FQR, LARGE;v CYLINDRICAL BODIES William Gibson; London, England, assignor tov Daily: Mirror Newspapera Limited, London,

England;

Application March 28, 1949, Sjeri'al No. 8358,42 In Great Britain Marchlnliiflv S-Claims. 1.

Thisv invention relatesto platforms andthe like, adapted for facilitating the unloading of lorries, againstwhich lorries-mayy be-backed for-the purpose of unloading therefrom reels of newsprint or other cylindrical bodies of considerable weight.

Reels' of newsprint are transported tov the printingwcrks on lorries, andA in order that aplurality of tier-s of such`4 reels mayv be carried safely, they must be stacked so that the reelsforming oneftier are in staggered relationv with the reels forming the immediately adjacent tiers, or in other words, for instance, the reels ofv a second or upper tier is engaged in. the hollows provided bythe-iirst or next lower-tier, thefaxis of the reels being* transverse to the length of the lorry.

Where a third tier is carried, the reels of' this tier lie in theA hollows provided. by the second tier.

`lReels-stacked in this manner are verydifcult to unload as until the first three or four reels are vclear therev is no room on the lorry tov allow, after the removal of checks` provided to locate thereels of a, lower tier, further reels to be levered out until they drop and then roll oif.

They position is generally.y similar with other bodies of material, for instance cylindrical con:` tainers of considerable weight.

According to the invention, theV platform isprovided adjacentits forward extremity against which the tail ofthe lorry toabe unloaded willbe adjacent, with a section at least equal'to thewidth,

or length ofthe reels or the like hingedly mounted vand furnished with mea-ns whereby it may be raised or lowered within certain limits to bring its forward edge upA to the height of thetail of the lorry; and behind this portion there is provided a rotatably mounted spindle from bosses on which extend a plurality of arms spaced apart at4 equi-angular distances so that in the rotation of the spindlein the unloading operation the ends of these arms preferably provided with rollers will be brought into position to engage against successive reels.

v Preferably-there are provided at least two sets of such arms,one locked towards one end ofthe spindle and the other towards the other end thereof, so that the successive reels may each be engaged at two points in its length.

The spindle may be associated with braking mechanismand means whereby it maybe rotated or its rotation permitted to bring the arms in succession into position against the successive reels delivered from the lorry. Y

The spindle provided with arms may be arranged above'- the platform; inv which case the 2 ends of the arms will contact withhthe upper-surfaces of; the reels, orl itl may be arranged below the platform, in which caseA slots will be provided thereinI to permit the arms to extend above the general surface of the platform seas to contact withV the lower surfaces of the=reels.

Preferably, thereis provided in the path ofthe reelsastheyf pass the mechanism l above described, a switch or equivalent meansto. arrest the rotation as each successivereel passes;

Further'inthe rear offthe mechanism described there is preferablyprovided a` hinged: platform: in association. with resilient means permittingy this platform totake up anyl shock and toensure that the reel comesv to rest and with this platform there is preferably associated meansadapted to permit the mechanism furnished with arms to rotate until afollowing. reel operates the iirstmentioned switch or equivalent means.

Where the spindle provided with. arms iswanranged below the platform, so'. that thrustfrom the reelsdeliyered from, the lorry shallnot-tend to, push the reel overthe arms means maybe provided for holding the; reels down on` toA the platform; and such means maybe;- guides4 which form; a fra-merrore` located an. anprrvpriate dise-` tance abovel theplatform.

Conveniently, in accordancey with thei invention the roadv or bay into which the lorry is backed is inclined downward in a direction towards thev rear of thelorry at an inclinationfwit-h the horizontal, while the hinged forwardl portion of theplatform and the portion ofthe platform extending through the mechanismv furnished with arms-to provide support for the reels is-also somewhat inclined to the horizontal so as to, enable the reels to move forward under the action of-gravity.

With the arrangement so far described; diieculty may arise due to the reelsnotdescending and being delivered in theiry appropriate order which should be as follows, assuming that the lorry is loaded wththree tiersof reelsas is usuali The lowermost ofthe first column of reels may be regardedas number t, the one above it number f2 and thevone above that number 3 the lowermost of the4 next group-ofreels located one above the` othermay bev regarded as numbers 45zandf6, and' the next column of reels?, 8 and S, the remaining reels being numbered inan up.- ward'direction, Iii, ll and I2.

On removal of the rst ofi the checks which are provided for` maintaining the reels` in the`V appropriate position, therst reel off the bottom tienl will4` move towards-the bank; oir` to the reels as they descend do not crash upon the Y tail portion of the lorry.

A feature of the invention is the provision of such a loop, the arrangement and construction of which will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate by way of example one construction in accordance with the invention, and include diagrammatic views of the operation of the loop member.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a view in side elevation of an arrangement in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof with an element forming a cover plate removed;

Figures 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are diagrammatic views illustrating the operation of the arrangement i1- lustrated in Figures l and 2, in the unloading of reels of newsprint from a lorry, while Figure 8 is a similar diagrammatic view showing the result which normally occurs when an element of the invention is not in use.

Referring to Figures l and 2, it will be seen that the platform or unloading bank a is provided adjacent to its forward extremity against which the tail of the lorry b to be unloaded will be adjacent, with a section c at least equal to the width or length of the reels or the like hingedly mounted and furnished with jacking means d whereby it may be raised or lowered l within certain limits to bring its forward edge up to the height of the tail of the lorry and behind this portion there is provided a rotatably mounted spindle e from bosses f on which extend a pluralityof arms g spaced apart at equiangular distances so that in the rotation of the spindle in the unloading operation the ends of these arms provided with rollers h will be brought into position to engage against successive reels.

As shown, there are provided two sets of such arms, one located towards one end of the spindle and the other towards the other end thereof, so that the successive reels may each be engaged at two points in its length,

With the spindle is associated braking mechanism and means y whereby it may be rotated or its rotation permitted to bring the arms in succession into position against the successive reels delivered from the lorry.

In the path of the reels as they pass the mechanism above described, a switch arm Ic is provided to actuate a switch operative in controlling the braking mechanism to arrest the rotation of these arms as each successive reel passes.

Further, in the rear of the mechanism described there is provided a hinged platform Z in association with resilient means m permitting this platform to take up any shock and to ensure that the reel comes to rest and with this platform there is associated arms n adapted to actuate a switch to permit the mechanism furnished with arms to rotate until a following reel opu crates the first-mentioned switch.

With the spindle provided with arms arranged below the platform so that thrust from the reels delivered from the lorry shall not tend to push the reel over the arms, there is provided for holding the reels down on to the platform a framework supporting a cover plate o located an appropriate distance above the platform.

As shown, the road or bay p into which the lorry is backed is inclined downward in a direction towards the rear of the lorry at an inclination with the horizontal while the hinged forward portion of the platform and the portion of the platform extending through the mechanism furnished with arms to provide support for the reels is also somewhat inclined to the horizontal so as to enable the reels to move forward under the action of gravity.

Assuming that the lorry is loaded with three tiers of reels as is usual, the lowest of this group of reels may be regarded as number I, the one above it number 2 and the one above that number 3, the lowermost of the next group of reels located one above the other may be regarded as numbers il, 5 and 6, and the next column of reels 7, 8 and 9, the remaining reels being numbered in an upward direction I0, ll and I2.

With such an arrangement it will be found that, when the first reel, that is, reel l, is moved beyond a certain distance away from the assembly of reels on the lorry and the reel number 2, there will be a tendency for the reel 2 to fall heavily, and allow the reel 3 simultaneously to descend into the depression between reels 2 and l! and so on, as shown in Figure 8.

In order to prevent this result a rope should be passed into the gap between the topmost reel 3 and the reel 2.

So that this device may be automatic, a framework consisting of two channel rails q extending longitudinally is located above the position in to which a lorry will be backed against the hinged platform c, the rails inclining downwards towards the third tier on the lorry platform at the same downward incline as the roadway T upon which the lorry will stand.

Upon these two channel rails is supported a trolley s to which is secured a rope t the ends of which are connected to opposite ends of the trolley and pass over a free pulley u and a pulley v on a shaft w in driving connection through gearing at, with a constant torque device y which allows the trolley to move slowly up the incline under a predetermined constant torque.

Fastened to extension brackets z below the trolley there are two flexible ropes a', a' which will normally hang vertically when no lorry is being unloaded and which are kept at a distance apart suii'icient to allow ample clearance over the length of a reel.

yThese ropes will thus be free to pass downwards on either side of the reels on the lorry.

At the lower end of these ropes, two other ropes b', b' each somewhat longer than the length of a reel is fastened at each end to a rotatable socket c', c' free to rotate in links d', d which are used to keep thel rotatable ropes separated by a distance approximately equal to onetenth of the circumference of a reel.

=Prior to the commencement of unloading, the first of these two rotatable ropes will be within the gaps between reels 2 and 3.

During unloading the twin rotating rope assembly will pass successively through gaps between 2 and 3, then 3 and 5, then 5 and S, 6 and 8 and so on; being kept continually in tension against the surface of the reel by the overhead `endless constant torque rope and trolley.

After the unloading of a lorry` is completed the directiony of rotation of the torque motor is reversed, 'so `that the trolley may return to its lower position ready for the commencement of another unloading operation.

In commencing to unload the lorry it will be foundkconvwnient to leave two or three reels A and B in' position on the platform, the reels being movedip to a position in which the foremost of them'is brought against the iirst and lowermost reel upon the lorry, an operation which may be effected by ,applying power on the spindle e and causing it to rotate in the reverse sense from that in which it normally moves in the unloading operation.

After ,the` foremost of the reels supported on the platform have been brought up against the lowermost reel on the tail of the lorry, the chock against which this reel bears will be removed (the chucks'A being conveniently furnished with handles) so thaty the reel may then, when the spindle and tliefarins associated with them are allowed to rotate ian-,fa counterclockwise direction, roll towards the platform.

The second reel from the lorry will follow and then the third, fourth, fifth and thereafter successive reels,'the remaining chocks being removed as the operation of unloading progresses.

The order in which the reels are unloaded is more clearly followed from Figures 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, Figure 8 illustrating the disordered descent of delivery of the reels which would occur Without employing the retarding means which forms part 1 drical bodies, said platform defining an inclined rollway having its forward higher end disposed at an elevation to receive cylindrical bodies rolled from the tail end of a lorry and a retarding device located rearwardly of the forward end of the rollway and comprising a plurality of movable, spaced-apart arms adapted to successively engage the cylindrical bodies traveling down the rollway, braking means for restraining the movement of said arms, and a reverse drive for said arms.

2. A vehicle unloading platform for large cylindrical bodies, said platform dening an inclined rollway and including an unloading bank located at the forward higher end of the rollway, means for adjusting the height of said bank to the level of the tailA end of a lorry to receive cylindrical bodies rolledjfrom the lorry, and a retarding device locatedfrearwardly of the unloading bank, said'retarding device comprising a plurality of rotatable, angularly-spaced arms adapted to successively engage the cylindrical bodies traveling down the rollway, braking means for restraining rotation of said arms, and a reverse drive for said arms.

3. A vehicle and unloading platform as set forth in claim 2 in which the retarding device comprises two laterally spaced sets of rotatable radially-mounted arms each arranged to simultaneously engage a cylindrical body upon the circumference and adjacent opposite ends of the cylindrical body.

4. A vehicle unloading platform as set forth in claim 3 in which the axis of rotation of the arms is located below and crosswise of the rollway, whereby the arms are adapted to engage the lower circumference of the cylindrical body.

5. A vehicle unloading platform as set forth in claim 1 including an overhead frame extending along the rollway in spaced relation to the arms for preventing jumping of the cylindrical bodies over the arms.

6. A vehicle unloading platform for large cylindrical bodies, said platform dening an nclined rollway having its forward higher end disposed at an elevation to receive cylindrical bodies rolled from the tail end of a lorry and a retarding device located rearward of the forward end of the rollway and comprising a plurality of movable spaced-apart arms adapted to successively engage the cylindrical bodies traveling down the rollway, braking means for restraining movement of said arms and control means interposed in the path of travel of the cylindrical bodies along the rollway for momentarily releasing said braking means, an inclined ramp in line with but in advance of the rollway for accommodating a lorry withl its chassis sloping downward from its head end toward its tail end and a loop suspended from a point above the` ramp for extending into the gaps between the cylindrical bodies for insuring the orderly vertical descent of such bodies during unloading of the lorry.

7. A vehicle unloading platform as set forth in claim 6 including al trackway above the ramp adapted to overlie and extend lengthwise of a lorry, a trolley adapted to travel along said trackway, means for driving said trolley at uniform speed along the trackway and suspension means for connectingthe loop with the trolley.

8. A vehicle unloading platform as set forth in claim 1 in which the retarding device is drivable in opposite directions.

WILLIAM GIBSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name n Date 1,112,543 Love Oct. 6, 1914 '1,849,385 Sekulski Mar. 15, 1932 1,892,670 Jaeger Jan. 3, 1933 2,206,766 Cushnie July 2, 1940

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