Material or article handling – Elevator or hoist and loading or unloading means therefor – Grab
Patent
1984-02-28
1987-02-03
Spar, Robert J.
Material or article handling
Elevator or hoist and loading or unloading means therefor
Grab
414623, 414627, 414911, 294 641, B66F 918
Patent
active
046406611
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention is related to clamp lift truck handling of primarily news print paper rolls. On its way from the paper mill to the news print machinery each paper roll has to be handled by clamp lift trucks several times. Based on experience all over the world, there is a small--but definite--risk of damaging the rolls during each handling. Experience also points out the considerable lower risk by using vacuum lift clamps instead of the conventional type of clamps having pressure pads.
Vacuum lift clamps for news print rolls have been used for many years--mostly in the United States--with both good and bad results, and represent in their basic principles no novelty. The few vacuum clamp types on today's market, however, are constructions based on old ideas concerning the design of the vacuum pads and their bearing systems, and have not been adapted to the various sizes of rolls in use today, or those that may come in the future.
It is an object of the present invention to enable the truck driver to handle a single paper roll, alternatively two rolls side by side, with various diameters within a range from 30" to 45" or 50", in the easiest and most safe manner. Furthermore, the present invention has an object to provide a very simple and durable vacuum clamp construction which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture and to do maintenance on.
According to the invention, each vacuum pad unit consists of three rigid curved plate parts, preferably of steel, hinged together by means of two vertical hinges, in order to adapt the rubber sealing in front of the pad plates positively to the various diameters of the paper rolls. Supporting means between the vacuum pad(s) and the fork carriage on the lift mast provide the three curved pad parts with free movement for their adaption to varying diameters of the paper roll types, and also free movement for adaption of the pad to various positions of the roll(s). The supporting means provides a favourable pressure distribution to all lengths of the rubber sealing, with special attention to the vertical parts of the sealing, which--based on experience--are difficult to seal because of the horizontal waved rings that often exist on the surface of the rolls, caused by moisture. A favourable pressure distribution will occur both when picking up the rolls and after having lifted them. This is attained as defined in the characterizing clause of the attached patent claims.
Four preferred non-limitative embodiments of the invention are described in detail hereafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, where
FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the invention, having a vacuum lift clamp for side handling of a single paper roll;
FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment according to FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 illustrates a second embodiment according to the invention enabling the handling of two paper rolls side by side;
FIG. 4 is a top view of the embodiment according to FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 illustrates a third embodiment of the invention being considered as the best mode;
FIG. 6 is the view VI--VI in FIG. 5 but wherein details of the balance arm (shown in FIG. 7) are eliminated for purposes of clarity;
FIG. 7 is the view VII--VII in FIG. 5; and
FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the invention enabling the handling of two paper rolls side by side, the view being similar to the views in FIGS. 6 and 7, respectively.
The further FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate the construction and operation of a preferred vacuum pad--to be described--for use with any of the four embodiments.
FIG. 12 is a front view of FIG. 11.
The three curved vacuum pad plates 1,2 and 3 including a central plate and two outer flap plates are hinged together along vertical hinges 4 and 5. On the paper roll side of the pad there is a rubber sealing member 6, not being shown in details on the FIGS. 1-7, because such sealing members are well known in the art in various designs on vacuum lift clamps.
A bearing member, shown herein as a female upper ball joint bearing 7 is attached to the top of the middle pad plate
REFERENCES:
patent: 3147872 (1964-09-01), Olson
patent: 3227482 (1966-01-01), Harris et al.
patent: 3260391 (1966-07-01), Horton
patent: 3260392 (1966-07-01), Harris
patent: 3276611 (1966-10-01), Horton
patent: 3363929 (1968-01-01), Nelson
patent: 3367705 (1968-02-01), Ames
patent: 3982782 (1976-09-01), Bos
Muncy Ken
Spar Robert J.
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