Slack cable sensing apparatus
AssigneeRenner Manufacturing Company
InventorRichard F. Voelz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus is described for detecting a slack cable condition on material handling carriers, hoisting equipment and the like. The device is mounted adjacent the winch drum and is designed for disabling the operation of the winch when the load comes to rest and the cable slackens. When a load is being supported by the cable and the cable is taut, an interface portion of the sensing apparatus is biased to a first position. However, when the load comes to rest and the cable slackens, a bias spring functions to position the interface portion of the sensor to a second position and to preclude further operation of the winch and prevent undesirable cable unwinding.
Claims5
In combination, a gantry type crane having frame means,
- load handling means mounted on said frame means for supporting a load and for moving the same vertically and transversely relative to said frame means,
- a pair of cables coupled to the load handling means, drum means mounted on said frame means,
- each of said cables being connected to said drum means whereby rotation of said drum means in a first direction will elevate said load and rotation thereof in an opposite direction will lower said load, each of said cables tending to become slack when the portion of the load supported thereby engages a support surface,
- drive means for driving said drum means, first and second disabling means mounted on said frame means and coupled to said drive means and effective when both are in an operative position to disable said drive means, biasing means coupled to said disabling means for urging said disabling means into their operative positions, said first and second cables respectively engaging said first and second disabling means and each being effective when taut to hold its associated disabling means out of its operative position, said biasing means being effective for individually moving said first and second disabling means into its operative position as its associated cable becomes slack whereby said drum means will be arrested when both cables are slack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.