US3493105A - Lagging for cable drum - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 3, 1910 (GEES m; 1 3,493,105

- LAGGING FOR CABLE DRUM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 17, 196":

INVENT FRANKLIN H. s KENNETH W.HAMMEL BY 7% m ATTORNEY Feb. 3, 1970 NF HGREB ETAL 3,493,105

LAGGYING FOR CABLE DRUM Filed Aug. 17, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS FRANKLIN H. GREB KENNETH W- HAMMEL ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,493,105 LAGGING FOR CABLE DRUM Franklin H. Greb, Waukesha, and Kenneth W. Hammel,

Hales Corners, Wis., assignors to Bucyrus-Erie Company, South Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 661,448 lint. Cl. B65b 55/00, 75/02; 365d 85/04, 85/66 U.S. Cl. 206-59 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The end flanges of a cable drum are provided with facing continuous circular grooves which define the ends of an enlarged cylindrical lagging shell; and one quadrant of the rim of one flange is cut away outwardly of the inner wall of the groove to expose the groove and define an access opening thereto. The lagging shell is made up of four quadri-cylindrical segments which are inserted or removed in serial fashion by bringing them to the access opening. One master segment has a large corner notch at which there is a cable guide, and also has a smaller notch at the diagonally opposite corner. This segment is inserted last to remain at the access opening, and it can be reversed end for end depending on how the cable is wound on the drum. A closure in the form of a curved rim sector is removably attached to the cut away end flange to reestablish the missing rim quadrant and has a cut away inner edge which re-establishes the continuity of the groove. The rim sector carries a lug which fits in either notch of the master segment to lock the lagging shell against rotation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to cable drums, for example on excavating machines; and more particularly to a lagging shell for such a drum which in effect provides an enlarged core to increase the speed at which cable is picked up or paid out for a given drum speed.

It is often desirable in excavating machines and other applications to be able to increase the speed at which cable is picked up or paid out by a cable drum, this sort of flexibility being especially desirable in truck mounted cranes and other machines which are expected to be able to work in a variety of environments. It is conventional to accomplish the desired result by providing a removable lagging core or shell which is larger than and concentric with the core of the cable drum.

It is important that such lagging shells be of sufiicient size and mechanical strength for use with large cables and heavy loads, but it is also important for the lagging shell to be attachable and removable by one or two men; and these conflicting objectives cannot be attained with previously known lagging arrangements. In the case of extremely large machines having large cable drums, for example, it might be necessary with previously devised lagging constructions to have another crane available simply to hoist the parts of the lagging shell as it is being attached and removed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention contemplates a cylindrical lagging shell, preferably of substantially continuous nature, made up of a desired number of segments which are supported in grooves in the end flanges of the drum and which may easily be inserted or removed in serial fashion by means of an access opening formed by cutting away at least a portion of the rim of at least one end flange to expose the groove. There is preferably one master segment which allows for passage of the cable and which can be reversed so that the cable can be fed olf the drum in either direction. A

3,493,105 Patented Feb. 3, 1970 preferred closure means serves to lock the shell against rotation and also serves to reestablish the missing flange rim portion and the continuity of the groove. The construction of the invention is extremely strong so that it is adaptable for use with large drums and heavy cables, yet the several shell segments can be handled, inserted and removed by only one or two men without undue effort.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partially exploded, somewhat schematic view in perspective illustrating a cable drum including a lagging shell formed according to this invention,

FIG. 2 is a side view, with parts shown broken away and in cross section, of the drum shown in FIG. 1, but with the exploded elements of FIG. 1 shown in place, and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in cross section through the plane 3-3 shown in FIG. 1, also with the exploded elements shown in place.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The cable drum shown in the drawing is specifically intended for use on a truck mounted crane, but it will obviously be usable in a wide variety of other environments. It is of generally conventional overall configuration, including a free end flange 1 and a relatively wider end flange 2 which houses drive elements (not shown); and a cable 3 is suitably anchored and wound on a central cylindrical core 4. The particular dlrum construction and the specific arrangement used to drive the drum are not crucial to the invention, and various constructions and arrangements are well known to those skilled in the art so that they need not be shown or described in detail herein.

The facing inner surfaces of the end flanges 1 and 2 are provided with continuous facing circular grooves 5 which have a rectangular cross section and which are of the same size and concentric with and larger than the drum core 4. The grooves 5 are spaced radially inwardly from the peripheries of the flanges 1 and 2 so that there are rims of the flanges 1 and 2 outwardly of the grooves 5. Approximately a quadrant of the rim of the free end flange 1 is cut away outwardly of the radially innermost wall of the groove 5 to expose the groove 5 and define an access opening 6 (the outer portion of the flange 1 is actually out slightly deeper than the groove wall to provide relief and insure proper seating, but this does not affect the basic structure or operation and will be disregarded herein).

The grooves 5 define the ends of a cylindrical lagging shell which is concentric with and larger than the core 4. The shell itself is made up of four curved metal plates 7 which constitute quadricylindrical segments of the shell. The ends of the plates 7 are received and supported in the grooves 5 and when all four plates 7 are in place they form a substantially continuous shell, there being only minimal clearance between the facing edges of the plates 7. This continuous construction gives the resulting shell substantial mechanical strength so that it may be used with heavy cables and loads.

One shell segment, which is indicated by the reference numeral 7 and can be referred to as a master segment, is provided with a large corner notch 8 at the inner edge of which there is a curved cable guide 9. When the segment 7' is in place, the cable 3 passes through the notch 8 and about the guide 9, the latter serving to prevent kinking or abrasion. In the diametrically opposite corner of the segment 7 from the notch 8 is a second, somewhat smaller, corner notch 10.

The segments 7 are inserted by putting one end in the groove 5 opposite the access opening 6 and laying the other end down in the access opening 6, and then sliding the segment 7 in either direction to place it in the grooves 5. They are removed by sliding them back to the access opening 6 and reversing these steps. The cable 3 is simply held to one side or the other as this is being accomplished.

The master segment 7' is inserted last, and as indicated the notch 8 provides an opening for the cable 3 to pass through. The segment 7' may be reversed end for end so that the cable 3 can be led out from either end of the drum, depending on how it is wound. This reversibility provides important flexibility of operation, allowing the same construction to be used in a variety of environments.

When all of the segments 7, including the master segment 7, are in place, it is desirable from the standpoints of mechanical strength and effective operation to reestablish the continuity of the groove and of the rim of the flange 1, and it is also desirable to lock the shell as a whole against rotation with respect to the drum. These objectives are accomplished in the preferred embodiment by means of a closure in the form of a curved rim sector 11 which corresponds to the cut away rim portion of the flange 1. The closure or sector 11 is provided With end tabs 12 which overlay the adjacent rim portions, and bolts 13 are used to removably fix the sector 11 in place whereupon it closes the opening 6 and re-establishes the continuity of the flange 1.

The lower inner edge of the closure 11 is cut away at 14, this cut away portion 14- being of the same dimensions as the groove 5 so that when the sector 11 is in place it also re-establishes the continuity of the groove 5 in the flange 1. The cut away portion 14 stops short of one end of the sector 11, the right end as seen in FIG. 1, and this configuration defines an elongated lug 15 which is adapted to be received in either of the notches 8 or 10. When the lug 15 is in either notch 8 or it is engageable with either the master segment 7 or the adjacent segment 7 to hold the shell as a whole against rotation relative to the drum in either direction. If the segment 7 is in the orientation showed in the drawings herein, the lug will be received in the notch 8, there still being suflicient room for the lug 15 outwardly of the guide 9 as can be seen in FIG. 2. If the segment 7 is reversed end for end, however, the lug 15 will be received in the notch 10.

In the embodiment shown, the rim sector 11 is of a particularly satisfactory laminated construction, being made up of an outer plate 16 and an inner plate 17. The plates 16, 17 are welded or otherwise fastened together with the inner edge of the inner plate 17 outwardly offset from the inner edge of the outer plate 16 a distance equal to the width of the groove 5. The width of the plate 17 is made equal to the depth of the groove 5, and as can be seen in FIG. 3, it is the plate 17 which forms the radially outermost groove wall which is against the segment 7. An inwardly extending portion of the inner edge of the inner plate 17 serves to define the lug 15. Using this laminated construction provides both the cut away edge 14 and the lug 15 with an absolute minimum of intricate machining. Forming the sector 11 by machining or casting is, however, possible.

When the lagging shell is in place, it of course functions as the drum core and the cable 3 is picked up and paid out in the usual manner. It will be obvious that enough of the cable 3 for the desired purpose will be paid out before the shell is attached, leaving only any excess on the core 4.

The construction shown provides a lagging shell which has great mechanical strength because the shell is continuous and because the ends of the shell are fully supported in continuous grooves. It is especially suitable for large cable drums because of this mechanical strength and because the shell is divided into segments each of which is light enough to be handled by one or two men.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it will be apparent that modifications might be made Without departure from the scope of the invention. Although four shell segments are shown, for example, the same basic construction could be provided using less or more segments, it being necessary only that there be a number of cylindrical segments, preferably of equal size, and an access opening of sufficient angular extent to admit the largest segment.

Further, the grooves 5 need not necessarily be formed by cutting them into the facing flange surfaces as shown. It would be possible, for example, simply to recess the entire area of each of the facing flange surfaces outwardly of the desired location of the inner walls of the grooves to a depth equal to the desired depths of the grooves. This would result in circular steps or ledges on the facing flange surfaces which would define the inner walls of the grooves, and the floors of the grooves would be defined by the recessed surfaces immediately adjacent thereto. The outer walls could then be established by fastening one or more curved plates like the plate 17 to the recessed flange surfaces at a suitable distance outwardly of the steps.

Similarly, the access opening need not be formed by cutting away a rim portion entirely. With the stepped construction of the preceding paragraph, for example, one of the curved plates, of suitable angular extent, could, like the closure 11, be removed to expose the groove and define an access opening and replaced to close the opening and re-establish the groove. Alternatively, to avoid clearance problems facing plates on both flanges could be removed and the shell segments could then be lowered straight into place as opposed to inserting one end first. This approach could be combined with the approach of the preferred embodiment by forming the equivalent of the outer plate 16 integrally with the flange 1 and having only a plate equivalent to the plate 17 as an insertable and removable sector or closure (a corresponding configuration might then be provided for the opposite flange 2). This could be done by casting the flanges as integral units with suitable recesses or by machining the recesses later.

Other forms of closures could also be substituted. One or more tabs adapted to overhang the segment 7' could, for example, be substituted for the plate 17 or its equivalents and serve effectively the desired primary purpose of closing otf the access opening.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cable drum having a. core and end flanges, the combination comprising: facing continuous circular grooves in the end flanges, the grooves being spaced radially outwardly of the core and radially inwardly of the peripheries of the flanges; at least a portion of the rim of one flange being cut away radially outwardly of the associated groove to expose a portion of the groove and define an access opening; a cylindrical lagging shell comprising a plurality of curved segments which together define a substantially continuous cylindrical shell, the ends of the segments being slidably received in the grooves, the angular extent of the access opening being sufficient to receive the individual segments so that the segments can be inserted and removed in serial fashion by being brought to the access opening; and a closure adapted to be removably attached to said flange to close the access opening, said closure comprising a rim sector with a curved edge which re-establishes the continuity of the groove.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein there is a master segment provided with a notch through which a cable wound on the core may be fed, which notch is adapted to be adjacent the access opening when the master segment is in place; and wherein the closure carries a lug adapted to be received in the notch to lock the lagging shell against rotation relative to the drum.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein there is a second notch in the master segment, the two notches being at diametrically opposite corners; and wherein the master segment is adapted to be reversed end for end with the lug adapted to be received in either notch.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein the rim of said one flange is entirely cut away outwardly of the inner wall of the groove for the entire angular extent of the access opening; and wherein the rim sector corresponds to the cut away rim portion to re-establish the continuity of the flange and has a cut away inner edge to re-establish 5 the continuity of the groove.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the rim sector is made up of inner and outer plates, the inner lamination being of a thickness equal to the depth of the groove and having its inner edge outwardly offset from the inner edge of the outer plate a distance equal to the width of the groove to define a continuation of the groove; and

wherein the inner lamination has an inwardly extending portion which defines the lug.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 23,773 of 1901 Great Britain. 493,658 10/1938 Great Britain.

GEORGE F. MAUTZ, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 242-77.4

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