US3071222A - Winch - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 1, 1963 H. KOENIG ETAL WINCH 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 11, 1958 Herbe/f Aoen/g fiuJJeU C Ju/hran INVENTORS BY PM 9-. vow

1963 H. KOENlG ETAL 3,071,222

WINCH Filed Sept. 11, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l I q \t b I Q5 Q (k I fl 5 Q J) I R J =1 Q i 7 2 a & l I N v 3 5 a N no I Herberf Keen/9 i l fiuJJefl C Ju/l/van INVENTORS N BY q) SitatesPate nt 3,071,222 Patented "Jan. 1', 1963 Filed Sept. 11, 1958, Ser. No. 760,324

3 Claims. (Cl. 192-12) This invention relates to winches of the type used in hoisting, lowering or pulling operations. The main object of the invention is to provide a novel winch of general application and of unusually compact and rugged construction.

v Another object is to provide a winch in which the means for driving the drum are substantially more rugged and powerful than in previous designs.

Another object of our invention is to provide a winch in which the drum is actuated from the powering means through a drum wheel and clutching element compactly located at the same side of the drum and within a common lubricant casing. I

7 Another object is to provide a winch having adriving and clutching connection for: the of simple and highly'efiicient design, the torsional load bearing capacity 'svh ich is not limited by the .diarneter off "the fdr um' fAnotherfobject is to avoid deformation and untimely failure of'the s-haftby"poweringtheldruin indepei d i h ib j I l Another object is to provide awinch which in its 'preferred embodiment is adapted for ready rnofun tirig' in any of a wide variety of locations,'either on vehicles or stationary supports,'-by means of'the terminall'ehds of thedrun'ishaft. r i

Another object of our inventionis to provideanovel automatic winch brake which is adpted tore'sist reverse loads on the drum without imposing such loads' on the winchdrivingmeans. '6 h An additional object of our invention is' 'to"previde an automatic winch brake, theelem ents of 'which are so slight modification shown in FIG. 9', the unit can be adapted to produce rotation of the shaft'with the drum in order to obtain the occasionally desired benefits .of a rotating cathead sheave at one or both ends of the winch. However, in the alternate as in the primary embodiment, the drum wheel and the drum are coupled externally of the shaft, and the driving force therebetw'een is trans mitted at a point or points substantially removed from the axis of rotation. Those versed in the art will recognize the increased design efficiency and torque transmitting capacity of such arrangement, for it 'is well known that the maXirnum'torque which may be transmitted between two joined rotating parts is equal to thesheer strength of the coupling multiplied by its efiective distance from the axis'of rotation. 1

Referring now to the drawings, the Winch, 'asfg'en'erally shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, includes a drum rotatably mounted on adrum shaft 11. A cable, rope or ,wire line not shown, iswound aboutthe [drum ltlfandaiicomplishes the hoisting, lowering or pulling 'oper ions f0] whic-l the unit isinten ded Bearings inthetorm' bf'bus'hings. or, antifriction roller. hearings f '12 {at p0itione within each endllof, the'drum.-aboutthe sh n r v shaft 'joumal beating ,mount 13 is positioned ..at onefenc' of shaft 511, and is.,provided '-withj tappmrepeses 14m constructed"and' arranged that it is readily convertible to resist either clockwise or counterclockwise rotation.

'Another object is to provide a modified formvof our invention in which rotating cathead'sheaves'maybe 'se cured at either or both ends of the drum shaft of'the winch without sacrifice of any of the foregoing objects", I I These and other more specificobjects' hereafterappearing' are attained in the novelwinch construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which f 'FI G. l is a top view of the winch with the clutch in the disengaged position; r y Y Q .FIG. 2 is a section taken alongline 2-'2'of FIG. '1, but showing the clutch in the engaged position;

FIG. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken-orifline 3;3 .OFIG!1;

line 4- 4 of FIG. 1;

I FIG. 5 isaside view and section of a detail stantially on line 5-5 of FIG. 4; Y p FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail taken on the same section line as FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a section taken on line 7- 7 of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a section taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 6 ;'and

FIG. 9 is a detail vertical sectionlike FIG. 2, but showing the slight modifications required to provide a. rotating cathead sheave.

The objects of our invention are achieved by novel designpwhich differs in many respects irom that of con ventional units. The immediately apparent point of departure from the prior art is the provision in the primary or FIG. 2 embodiment of a non-rotating shaft upon which both the drum wheel and drum rotate. By the talren sub 'FIG. 4, isa vertical transversesection taken on brok en menttherewith. ,Rotation ofv shaft 21 hu produces rota tidnofwormgearZB.

. 'Re ferring again. to-FIG. 2, the lubricant casing v15 closedby the end cap member. 24-which is ,securedthere to by any conventional meanssuch as bolts '25. .Withi: the lubricant casing are the driving assembly, the drive] assembly. and the clutching elements, .all of which coac to transmit power asdesired fromzthe drive :shaft 21 t the. drum ,10. i The clutch provides means to break th power chain'and relarr therotatingtorce'on the drum In o ther..words, disengagement of -the .elutchallows th drive shaft tocontinue to turnwhilethe drum.i s at .resj The ,driving assembly comprises; thev worm gear. c driving .wheel .21} and. the ,driving; sleeve :26 which i adj acent thereto-on the .shaft 1-1,. ,These elements ar locked together by means of eapaserews 27. Ertter nz splines 28:a e: formed, about. the driving sleeve on th end opposite the worm gear 23;.

.The driven assembly comprises the. driven sleeve 2 which is ca rried about the shaft. 11 intermediate th driving assembly and the drum 10. .At the end of th drivensleeve 29 which is adjacent the drum .10, a flang 30 extends radiallyoutward to abut the flange 31 o the drum. Cap screws 32 secure these members tc gether. At the end of the driven sleeve 29 adjacent th driving sleeve 26 are provided external splines 33 whic are similar to splines 28.

Between the sleeves 26 and 29 and the shaft 11 ar antifriction hearings or bushings, shown as 34 and 3 respectively, which allow rotation between the sleeves an the shaft. A rigid collar 36 is formed about the shat 11 between thedriving and driven sleeves 26 and 29 t maintain the proper spacing therebetween, and to react th axial thrust which may be communicated to the driving assembly by the worm 22. The shaft 11 is maintained in a fixed position relative to the casing by means of the transverse set screw 37 through end cap member 24.

The clutch assembly comprises the lever 38, atop and outside the casing 15, the pinion shaft 3? to which the lever is attached, pinion gear 40, actuating ring 41 and clutch sleeve 42. The last named member in the clutch engaged position is carried about the adjacent portions of driving sleeve 26 and driven sleeve 29, and is internally splined for mating engagement with the external splines 28 and 33. Snap rings 42a serve to retain the clutch sleeve 42 within the actuating ring 41.

The actuating ring and clutch sleeve are adapted for movement along the axis of shaft 11 through a range of travel extending from the point at which the clutch sleeve is wholly removed from contact with the splines 33 on sleeve 29, the disengaged position, to the point at which the clutch sleeve extends onto each of the driving and driven sleeves an approximately equal amount, the engaged position. It is apparent that in the above described arrangement, torque is effectively transmitted from the driving to the driven assembly through a coupling which is highly eflicient in operation and may be readily disengaged.

The reciprocation of the actuating ring to produce engagement and disengagement of the clutch is produced, as best shown in FIG. 5, by rotation of the pinion shaft 39 which carries thereon pinion gear 40 secured by a key 43. The teeth on pinion 40 mate with the rack teeth 44 on the actuating ring 41, and translate the rotation of the shaft 39 as produced by the lever 38 into linear movement.

Atop the actuating ring 41 is a raised pad 45 which has two aligned recesses 46 and 47 therein. When the clutch is in either the engaged or disengaged position, the bulbous lower end of a spring pressed detent 48 mounted in a flanged thimble 49 in the upper casing wall is received within recess 46 or 47. The recesses are of difierent effective depths so that the position of actuating ring 41 will be externally signaled by the extent to which the top of detent 48 is visible. Further, when the clutch is neither completely engaged nor disengaged but is in some intermediate position, such condition will be readily apparent from the varying extent to which the top of the detent projects above the casing. The edges of recesses 46 and 47 and the channel therebetween smoothly merge so that detent 48 may readily snap into and out of the recesses when the clutch ring 41 is shifted.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the drive shaft 21 is provided with tapered roller bearings 50 and 51 which position and guide the shaft for proper mating with worm gear 23. At the end of the shaft 21 which projects from the lubricant casing is a keyway 52 which provides a convenient point of attachment for a crank or other source of power. Cover plate 53 which is secured to lubricant casing 15 by means of cap screws 53a houses the oil seal 54 and maintains the drive shaft and its bearings in the assembled position.

At the end of drive shaft 21 opposite the keyway 52 is provided an automatic safety brake of novel design indicated generally by reference numeral 55. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the brake consists of an inner ring 56 keyed at 56a to the drive shaft 21. About the circumference of inner ring 56 are a plurality of notches 57 having inclined bottom walls as shown in FIG. 7. Within each notch is a roller 58 and a flat spring 59 which biases the roller toward the shallow end of the notch. Outer ring 60 which is rotatable about inner ring 56 serves to confine the rollers within the notches and the flat spring 59 maintains the rollers in contact with the outer ring. The entire assembly is carried within the brake housing 61 which is secured to casing 15 by means of bolts 61a, and closed at the opposite end by cap member 62.

The inner wall of the housing 61 and the outer wall of the outer ring 60 are provided with teeth identified by reference numerals 63 and 64,, respectively. A number of clutch rings 65 are carried within the housing 61 and are secured thereto by teeth about the outer circumference which mate with the teeth 63. Interspaced between the rings 65 are clutch rings 66 which have teeth about their inner circumference which mate with the teeth 64 on the outer ring 60. Thus the clutch rings 66 rotate with the outer ring 60, and the clutch rings 65 are fixed by the housing 61. The tendency of the outer ring to rotate is resisted by the frictional drag between the alternating clutch rings, and the magnitude of the resulting frictional force is determined by the force with which the clutch rings are compressed by the pressure plate 67 acting thereagainst. The force on the pressure plate is applied through the centreing ball 68 which assures equal distribution of the load over the area of the clutch ring faces, and it is adjusted by the brake adjusting screw 69 which is movable along threads 70 by means of appropriate wrench flats 71 on the end of the screw 69 which projects outside the unit. Compensation for cumulative wear on the clutch rings is provided by moving the pressure plate inward. Oil seal 72 is carried about adjusting screw 69 to maintain a seal against the cap member 62.

The rollers 58 are maintained in contact with the inner wall of the outer ring 60 at all times by the flat springs 59. Rotation of the drive shaft 21 and inner ring 56 in a counterclockwise direction causes the rolling or dragging contact between the rollers and outer ring 60 to be exerted in a direction which urges the rollers toward the deeper end of the notches 57, and the inner ring rotates freely within the outer ring. However, when the counterclockwise rotationceases, any tendency of a reverse load on the drum to feed back through the drum Wheel into the shaft 21 and produce clockwise rotation thereof will be resisted by the drag between the clutch rings 65 and 66 as the rollers 58 instantly lock the inner ring to the outer ring. The locking of the rings results from the fact. that clockwise rotation tends to move the rollers toward the shallow end of their respective notches.

Our automatic brake may be readily adapted for reverse operation, i.e., to allow clockwise rotation and resist counterclockwise rotation. This change is accomplished by reversing the mounting of inner ring 56 on the shaft 21, so that the depth of the notches 57 increases in a counterclockwise direction rather than in a clockwise direction as in FIG. 7.

The automatic brake is a feature which is essential in a hoisting winch, one winch is adapted to lift a load and suspend it for an interval in an intermediate position. In a so-called pulling winch, one in which .operations are never arrested with a suspended load on the drum, there is no necessity for auxiliary means to perform a braking function.

Carried within the bearing mount 13 is the drag brake which comprises a brake pad 73 and compression spring 74 within the well 75. The pad is biased against the end flange 76 of the drum 10 and exerts a constant force to eliminate overrunning and backlash of the drum during operation.

The casing 15 is partially filled with lubricant, and the location of the drum wheel and clutch assembly within a common housing makes possible a simple and efiicient system of splash lubrication. A passage 77 through the flange 30 and drum 10 interconnects the casing 15 and the annular chamber 78 within the drum to provide lubrication for the bearings 12. An oil seal 79 is provided between the casing 15 and the flange 30 to effectively seal the interior of the unit and prevent leakage. In the disclosed arrangement, the necessity for additional lubrication points is eliminated. Casing end wall 24 sealingly engages drum shaft 11 near its extremity, a suitable packing being provided in groove 11a for this purpose.

A number of fins or vanes 80 are formed within the drum and project into the chamber 78. Such members are for the purpose of cooling the lubricant by absorbing the heat therefrom and dissipating it through the drum.

The provision of a non-rotating drum shaft in the FIG. 2 embodiment of our invention makes it possible to mount the winch by means of the projecting ends of the shaft. Such installation requires only a pair of aligned openings in the mount to receive the ends of the shaft, and a pair of fixed points for attachment of bolts in the holes 14 and 16. The flexibility of installation thus afforded is an obvious advantage of our novel design.

FIGURE 9 illustrates a modification of the basic unit to provide a rotating cathead sheave on the end of shaft 11. A simple mounting member is shown at the end of the winch adjacent the sheave, and a similar arrangement would be necessary at the opposite end to properly support the unit. Contrary to the described mounting arrangement for the FIG. 2 embodiment, the drum shaft could not be utilized to provide a fixed support point in the FIG. 9 unit unless an antifriction bearing were included between the shaft and the mount.

In describing the FIG. 9 winch, the same reference numerals identified in FIGS. 1 through 8 will be employed. The changes are explained below with the aid of new reference numerals.

The driving sleeve 26 is not rotatable about the shaft 11, but is secured thereto by a key 81. The bearing 34 is eliminated. A cathead sheave 32 is secured to the shaft 11 at the end thereof adjacent the casing 15 as by means of a key 82a. A similar sheave, not shown, could be similarly attached to the opposite end of the shaft. As the shaft 11 will rotate with the drum wheel, it is necessary to provide bearings 83 and 84, located respectively in the end cap member 24 of casing 15 and the bearing mount 13. Such bearings allow rotation of shaft 11 and maintain a seal to prevent leakage of the lubricant.

It is apparent that in the FIG. 9 embodiment, the shaft 11 carries only sufiicient load to drive the cathead sheave 82. The driving force for the drum is still transmitted through the driving and driven members and the clutch assembly, and the previously outlined advantages of our invention are still attained.

Obviously, various modifications may be made. For example, drive shaft 21 may be located and disposed as desired and the driving gearing modified accordingly. Various other changes will occur to those skilled in the art, and the protection of all modifications that come within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

The invention having been described, what we claim is:

1. In a winch, a drum shaft, a drum rotatably mounted on said shaft, a drum driving wheel on said shaft, sleeve member received about said shaft and, respectively, projecting toward each other from and movable with said drum and said driving wheel, a clutch sleeve received on and slidable along said sleeve members in splined connection therewith, means to shift said clutch sleeve to selectively couple and unoouple said drum and driving wheel independently of said shaft, a power input shaft in proximity to said drum shaft, meshing gear teeth on said power shaft and said drive wheel, concentric inner and outer rings about said power shaft, a casing portion encompassing said rings, said inner ring being rotatable with said power shaft, latch means between said rings permitting free relative rotation thereof in one direction while resisting relative rotation thereof in the opposite direction, first friction plates projecting outwardly from and rotatable with said outer ring, second friction plates secured to said casing portion and projecting therefrom inwardly and alternately between said first plates, said first and second plates being relatively movable axially of said power shaft to vary the spacing thereof, means for biasing said plates together for varying the frictional pressure therebetween to control the braking effect thereof upon said power shaft and said drum, and a sealed lubricant casing received about said drum shaft, said clutch sleeve, said drum wheel, and said power shaft in sealing engagement with the sleeve member projecting from said drum and with said drum shaft on the side thereof opposite from said last mentioned sleeve member.

2. A winch as described in claim 1 in which said latch means comprises wedging surface elements in the surface of at least one of said rings opposing said other ring, said surface elements being non-concentric with said ring, and wedging rollers interposed between said rings at said surface elements.

3. A winch as described in claim 1 in which said first and second friction plates are, respectively, in splined connection with said outer ring and said casing to permit axial shifting of said plates relative to said latter ring and casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,498,880 Malouin June 24, 1924 1,508,739 Anibal Sept. 16, 1924 1,982,886 Swartz Dec. 4, 1934 2,151,338 Shonnard Mar. 21, 1939 2,277,134 Nelson Mar. 24, 1942 2,300,122 Kelley Oct. 27, 1942 2,503,177 Symonds Apr. 4, 1950 2,642,970 Szekely June 23, 1953 2,703,220 Curtiss Mar. 1, 1955 2,795,964 Short June 18, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 631,849 Germany June 4, 1936

Claims (1)

1. IN A WINCH, A DRUM SHAFT, A DRUM ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT, A DRUM DRIVING WHEEL ON SAID SHAFT, SLEEVE MEMBER RECEIVED ABOUT SAID SHAFT AND, RESPECTIVELY, PROJECTING TOWARD EACH OTHER FROM AND MOVABLE WITH SAID DRUM AND SAID DRIVING WHEEL, A CLUTCH SLEEVE REEIVED ON AND SLIDABLE ALONG SAID SLEEVE MEMBERS IN SPLINED CONNECTION THEREWITH, MEANS TO SHIFT SAID CLUTCH SLEEVE TO SELECTIVELY COUPLE AND UNCOUPLE SAID DRUM AND DRIVING WHEEL INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID SHAFT, A POWER INPUT SHAFT IN PROXIMITY TO SAID DRUM SHAFT, MESHING GEAR TEETH ON SAID POWER SHAFT AND SAID DRIVE WHEEL, CONCENTRIC INNER AND OUTER RINGS ABOUT SAID POWER SHAFT, A CASING PORTION ENCOMPASSING SAID RINGS, SAID INNER RING BEING ROTATABLE WITH SAID POWER SHAFT, LATCH MEANS BETWEEN SAID RINGS PERMITTING FREE RELATIVE ROTATION THEREOF IN ONE DIRECTION WHILE RESISTING RELATIVE ROTATION THEREOF IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, FIRST FRICTION PLATES PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM AND ROTATABLE WITH SAID OUTER RING, SECOND FRICTION PLATES SECURED TO SAID CASING PORTION AND PROJECTING THEREFROM INWARDLY AND ALTERNATELY BETWEEN SAID FIRST PLATES, SAID FIRST AND SECOND PLATES BEING RELATIVELY MOVABLE AXIALLY OF SAID POWER SHAFT TO VARY THE SPACING THEREOF, MEANS FOR BIASING SAID PLATES TOGETHER FOR VARYING THE FRICTIONAL PRESSURE THEREBETWEEN TO CONTROL THE BRAKING EFFECT THEREOF UPON SAID POWER SHAFT AND SAID DRUM, AND A SEALED LUBRICANT CASING RECEIVED ABOUT SAID DRUM SHAFT, SAID CLUTCH SLEEVE, SAID DRUM WHEEL, AND SAID POWER SHAFT IN SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SLEEVE MEMBER PROJECTING FROM SAID DRUM AND WITH SAID DRUM SHAFT ON THE SIDE THEREOF OPPOSITE FROM SAID LAST MENTIONED SLEEVE MEMBER.

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