U.S. patent number 3,750,970 [Application Number 05/111,971] was granted by the patent office on 1973-08-07 for line coiling apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Marine Construction & Design Co.. Invention is credited to Olivier L. Tremoulet, Jr..
United States Patent |
3,750,970 |
Tremoulet, Jr. |
August 7, 1973 |
LINE COILING APPARATUS
Abstract
A crab trap warp line coiling mechanism is disclosed that can be
operated conjunctively with line hauling mechanism. A chamfered
presser wheel that wedges line into the V-shaped groove of the
coiler's power driven sheave is mounted on a rocker arm operatively
associated with interlock mechanism for the rotative slinger. A
slip clutch for the drive connection to the slinger permits the
slinger assembly to be stopped positively by the interlock when the
presser wheel is raised without interrupting the driven rotation of
the grooved sheave, and thereby safely permits removal and
insertion of line through registered slots in the slinger and
associated parts.
Inventors: |
Tremoulet, Jr.; Olivier L.
(Seattle, WA) |
Assignee: |
Marine Construction & Design
Co. (Seattle, WA)
|
Family
ID: |
22341425 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/111,971 |
Filed: |
February 2, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
242/361.4;
254/288; 254/333; 254/389; 242/361; 242/387; 242/386; 254/291;
254/382 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01K
73/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A01K
73/00 (20060101); A01K 73/06 (20060101); B65h
051/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;254/175.5,197
;242/82-83,47 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gilreath; Stanley N.
Assistant Examiner: Gerstein; Milton S.
Claims
I claim:
1. A line coiler comprising a line-guiding slinger, means to
support the slinger to rotate on an upright axis, said slinger
including an entrance at the top and a laterally directed exit at
the bottom and operable by slinger rotation to cast line in a
descending helix, means comprising a V-grooved sheave mounted and
driven conjunctively with slinger rotation to rotate on a
horizontal axis in a relative overlying position so as to feed line
from its groove downwardly into said slinger, a presser wheel,
support means rotatively mounting the presser wheel in position
operatively to engage and press a line in the sheave groove and to
retract the presser wheel therefrom to an inoperative position,
said slinger and the support means therefor having respective line
threader slot formations through which line may be inserted and
removed transversely of its length, first drive means to drive the
sheave, second drive means connected to be driven by the first
drive means and including a slip coupling through which to drive
the slinger, and indexing means associated with the slinger and
operably connected with the presser wheel so as to stop rotation of
the slinger by retraction of the presser wheel with the slot
formations in registry with each other.
2. The line coiler defined in claim 1, wherein the periphery of the
presser wheel rim is chamfered symmetrically at its sides at an
angle slightly steeper than the sides of the sheave groove.
3. The line coiler defined in claim 2, wherein the chamfered rim of
the presser wheel comprises an elastic material.
4. The line coiler defined in claim 1, wherein the presser wheel
support means comprises a pivoted arm, said indexing means
comprising said pivoted arm, a second pivotally mounted arm having
a stop element thereon, a stop on the slinger engageable by said
element to stop rotation of the slinger, means to interconnect the
arms including cooperable latch elements on the respective arms
interengageable initially by extending the retraction movement of
the first arm beyond said inoperative position, and with the arms
thereby interconnected to move the second arm to engage the stop by
moving the first arm back to position the presser wheel in its
inoperative position.
5. The line coiler defined in claim 4, including one handle means
manually operable to hold the latch elements disengaged and another
handle means on the first mentioned pivoted arm manually operable
to disconnect the latch elements and return the presser wheel to
its operative position,
6. A line coiler comprising a line-guiding slinger mounted and
driven to rotate on an upright axis, including an entrance throat
at the top and a radially offset and laterally directed exit port
at the bottom to pass line downwardly through the slinger so as to
cast the line in a descending helix by slinger rotation, and means
to feed line through the slinger comprising a V-grooved sheave
mounted on a horizontal axis and driven conjunctively with slinger
rotation so as to feed line from its groove downwardly into said
slinger, and presser means comprising a wheel rotatively mounted
outwardly from the sheave groove on an axis parallel to the sheave
axis, said wheel being positioned with its axis in a vertical plane
materially offset from that containing the sheave axis in the
direction of line advancement over the sheave to the slinger so as
to bend the line downwardly around the sheave, said wheel having a
chamfered rim, the sides of which slope at an angle slightly
steeper than the groove sides of the sheave.
7. The line coiler defined in claim 6, wherein the presser wheel is
supportively mounted on arm means operable to retract the wheel
from line-engaging position relative to the sheave, a non-rotative
generally funnel-shaped guide positioned above the slinger and
operable thereby to direct line from the sheave down into the
slinger, the slinger and guide having respective threading slot
elements that may be placed in mutual registry by rotation of the
slinger into predetermined position so as to permit removal and
insertion of line transversely from and into the slinger and guide,
indexing stop means operable at will to stop the slinger in said
predetermined rotational position, said arm means having an
operative connection with the indexing stop means actuatable at
will by movement of said arm means with the wheel out of
line-engaging position to stop the slinger in said predetermined
position.
8. The line coiler defined in claim 7, wherein the arm means on
which the presser wheel is mounted is pivoted to swing the presser
wheel in a generally vertical arc on an axis located on the side of
the sheave generally opposite that confronting the presser wheel.
Description
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
This application is companion to application Ser. No. 111,977 filed
Feb. 2, 1971 by Ronald W. Bartl and George G. Fulton directed to
line hauling and coiling apparatus and features of the coiler
herein disclosed.
In Alaska King Crab fishing the lines are lowered and hauled by
lines or "warps" secured to floats. The length of the lines used
are increased for greater depths when necessary by tying on one or
more additional line sections. Because the loaded traps are large,
heavy and often become embedded and stuck in the bottom it has
become common to use power driven haulers such as are disclosed in
Tullus B. Gordon, U. S. Pat. No. 3,034,767 (5/15/62). The line
being hauled comes in rapidly and must be coiled in orderly manner.
A crewman trying to do this while attending other duties including
pulling on the line at times to help the hauler, especially to pass
knots, cannot always do the job well without assistance.
An object of this invention broadly is to provide an improved
mechanical line coiling device that can be used safely and
efficiently aboard crab fishing boats in cooperation with a line
hauler so as to take up and coil the incoming line and to provide
controlled tension in the line leading from the hauler. More
specifically this invention is directed to improvements concerned
with the efficient, reliable operation of line coilers, and with
the safe and rapid threading and removal of line therein.
A specific object hereof is to provide a coiler into and from which
a line can be threaded and removed conveniently, safely and quickly
to suit the rigorous time-pressure conditions of usage in crab
fishing wherein the traps must be quickly hauled, emptied, rebaited
and reset before the moving vessel leaves the vicinity of the
previous set to haul the next trap. A related object is to provide
a drive and interlock mechanism for line coilers permitting safe
and reliable line threading manually, by indexed stopping of the
coiling slinger without necessity of stopping the feed sheave nor
the associated hauler circuit hydraulically with it.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a line
coiler which will pass knots consistently and which will feed a
knotted line efficiently. A related object is to devise a line
coiler having an efficient line feed mechanism which has the
tendency to remain drivingly engaged with the line being coiled
despite forces, such as undulation forces caused by slinger
rotation, the passage of knots, or misalignments of infed line with
the plane of the feed sheave tending to dislodge a line from the
feed sheave.
These and other features, objects and aspects of the invention will
be more fully understood from the detailed description which
follows in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which
illustrate the preferred embodiments of the invention.
DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric view illustrating line hauling and the
associated improved coiling apparatus as installed for use aboard a
crab-fishing vessel.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a combined hydraulic drive system
for the hauling and coiling apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation view with parts broken away
illustrating the improved line coiler mechanism in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail view taken in a radial
plane through the coiler drive sheave and presser wheel, with a
line engaged therebetween to be fed for coiling.
FIG. 5 is a top view with parts broken away illustrating the coiler
mechanism shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 6 is a side elevation view with parts broken away showing the
coiler mechanism of FIG. 3 viewed at 90.degree. to the showing of
FIG. 3.
FIG. 7 illustrates separately for clarity the latch and latch
release mechanism associated with the presser wheel support arm and
rotary line slinger of the coiler mechanism in an operating
position as shown in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a side elevation view similar to FIG. 6 but with most of
the illustrated parts shown in full and with the slinger latch in
stationary position for threading or removal of a line and with the
presser wheel raised to clear the drive sheave for either such
purpose, the view in FIG. 6 showing the parts in operative position
as when hauling and coiling line.
FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7 but showing the latch and latch
release mechanism in the latched or locked condition of FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 6 of a modified
coiler mechanism including a fluid-actuated presser wheel support
arm.
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a combined hydraulic drive
actuator shown in FIG. 10.
DESCRIPTION
In FIG. 1 a hauling and coiling system is shown installed aboard a
crab fishing vessel V such as used in northern Pacific waters to
catch king crabs. The traps used for king crab fishing are very
large and heavy and the warps or lines to set and retrieve them
cannot be hauled with sufficient speed, if at all, without the use
of powered equipment. The line hauler H shown mounted on the davit
D is of a commecially available type following generally the
teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 3,034,767 (Gordon). It comprises a
V-shaped sheave H1 driven by a hydraulic motor H2 and having
associated fairlead mechanism H3, line stripping means H4, and
off-bear guide means H5. The line hauler H is itself not part of
the present invention and to the extent it is part of the disclosed
combined hauling and coiling system the details thereof are or may
be conventional or of any appropriate design.
In use of the line hauler H to retrieve a crab trap (not shown) the
crab trap line or warp L is inserted in the line hauler H by
passing the line over the sheave H1 and through the associated
fairleader and guides, whereupon line tension wedges it into the
sheave groove such that energization of the hydraulic drive motor
H2 hauls in the line and thereby the crab trap in the manner
disclosed in the above-cited U.S. Pat. No. 3,034,767. The hauler
must be capable of accepting and passing knots L.sub.k in the line.
The lines are preferably lengthened by tying on one or more
additional lengths of line when the vesse changes its operations
from shallow to deeper waters. Moreover, because of the relatively
noncompressible nature of the typical line material (polypropylene)
and the use of knots that can be readily untied when shorter lines
are again necessary, the knots are large and their passage through
the hauler without interrupting its continuity of operation
presents a mechanical problem, especially due to the presence of
the knot lifting the line upward from its wedged position in the
sheave groove. Moreover in order to operate the vessel efficiently
during normal conditions, the traps must be hauled emptied,
rebaited and reset in a few minutes time. Whether being hauled for
immediate resetting or for storage aboard, the trap warps come in
through the hauler at a high rate of speed and must be
appropriately received and coiled. Without an automatic coiler such
as is disclosed herein the task must be performed by an already
busy crew and must be done carefully and skillfully or resetting
and storage of lines becomes troublesome. Moreover, operation of a
mechanical coiler, such as the mechanism C of improved form
provided by this invention is preferably coordinated with that of
the hauler. Thus speed variations or direction reversals of the
hauler under different operating conditions are matched by the
coiler, and one mechanism helps the other in the uninterrupted
inhaul and coiling of knotted sections of line.
The disclosed line coiler C also has a V-shaped line-receiving
sheave 10 which is driven by a hydraulic motor 12 through suitable
reduction gear 12a. As shown in FIG. 2, the two drive motors are
hydraulic, namely the hauler motor H2 and the coiler motor 12, and
are energized in series circuit through lines 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d
and 13e from a hydraulic pressure fluid source (not shown) and
through a conventional or suitable reversing control valve 13f. In
one position of the valve, fluid under pressure flows in one
direction through the two motors from the pressure source to the
hydraulic reservoir or tank (not shown) so as to operate the hauler
and coiler in the inhaul direction. In its reverse setting the
valve causes reverse direction of flow through the motors from the
source to the reservoir so as to reverse the motors. This is done
momentarily after the trap is lifted aboard the vessel and line
slack is desired at the hauler in order to permit disengaging the
line from the hauler sheave. In either direction of drive the two
motors start, stop and reverse together and, being energized in
series, rotate at speeds which are equal or vary up and down
together proportionately as load hydraulic drive pressure is
varied.
Coilers sheave 10 is mounted for driven rotation on a horizontal
shaft 14 which, along with the hydraulic drive 12, 12a which turns
it, is mounted in suitable bearings upon frame plate 16 standing up
from the support table 18 in turn mounted as a cantilever in
horizontal position on the outer end of the cantilever support arm
20. The latter is held on the mast M by means of bolted clamp bands
22 at the desired above-deck height and at the desired orientive
position addressing it correctly relative to the location of hauler
H. By loosening and retightening the clamp bolts 22a the height and
angular position (rotated about the mast M) may be varied to suit
different conditions or to operate with differently stationed
haulers or other line feed arrangements on the vessel. Hydraulic
motor 12 and the drive ratio of its associated output gearing 12a
are designed to rotate the coiler line feed sheave 10 so as to
advance the line through the coiler at a speed normally slightly in
excess of the speed at which the hauler H advances the line. Thus,
if any slack tends to develop in the line between the hauler and
the coiler, it will soon be taken up by the coiler and to the
extent that the coiler tends to pull line faster than the hauler
the line will slip in the V-groove of the coiler, yet at all times
during normal operation will maintain appreciable tension in the
stretch of line between the two devices so as to aid the hauler
materially in its capability of gripping and applying drive
traction to the line. This added line tension continuously
maintained by the coiler greatly assists the hauler in passing
knots without interruption or slowing down of the hauling
operation. In so doing the coiler exerts a much steadier and more
controlled amount of tension in the line between the two devices
than could a crewman attempting, however diligently, to perform the
same function. Thus the hauling operation in such a system is
performed more reliably and uninterruptedly under varying or
adverse conditions, employing a coordinated tractionally acting
hauler and coiler, with the latter operating slightly faster than
the hauler, than in conventional practice.
The line coiler sheave 10 has a V-groove of about 55.degree. or
thereabouts, included angle. The groove walls comprise or are lined
with rubber or rubber-like material 10a of a type which will
frictionally engage a line wedged into the base of the groove so as
to increase drive traction capability of the sheave. Pressure
against the line wedging it down into the base of the coiler sheave
groove as shown in exerted by a presser wheel 24 mounted to be
separately driven or, as shown, to rotate freely on a horizontal
support shaft 26, the free end of which, 26', serves as a handle to
raise and lower the wheel manually. In the presser wheel's
operative position bearing against the line L so as to force it
into the base of the coiler sheave groove its axis of rotation lies
in a vertical The plane displaced horizontally from the vertical
plane containing the rotation axis of sheave shaft 140 The amount
of this offset of the presser wheel waters. approximates or
somewhat exceeds the groove base radius of the sheave 10 and lies
in the direction of advancement of the line over the top of the
sheave 10 (FIG. 6) such that the wheel bends the line downward over
the sheave and enables the wheel to pass knots but to resist being
driven upward easily by their passage beneath the wheel.
The presser wheel support shaft 26 is mounted on the end of a
support arm 28 which is pivoted intermediate its ends on a
horizontal pin 30 on upright frame plate 16. The pivot 30 is
located at an intermediate level of height (i.e., between the
heights of the shafts 26 and 14) and in a vertical plane offset
horizontally from the vertical plane containing the axis of shaft
14 in the direction opposite from the offset of shaft 26. Thus, as
will be seen best in FIG. 6 with pivot 30 as its fulcrum, the arm
28 carrying the presser wheel 24 causes the presser wheel to move
downwardly against a crab trap line L retained in the sheave 10
along an arc which intersects the point of contact between the
presser wheel 24 and the line L at an acute angle to the tangential
interface at the point of contact between the presser wheel and the
line.
Moreover, in this improved coiler the presser wheel 24 has a soft
rubber rim 24a both sides 24a1 and 24a2 of which are chamfered at
an angle which is slightly (of the order of not more than a few
degrees) steeper than the slope angle of the respectively adjacent
sides of the sheave (see FIG. 4). It is found with these slope
relationships that not only is groove wall clearance afforded
preventing chafing and wear but any tendency of the line to climb
up out of the confines between the base of the groove in sheave 10
and the rim of the presser wheel 24 is inherently offset by
restorative forces returning the line back into the base of the
groove where it tends to be retained squarely centered beneath the
presser wheel 24 and thus subjected to maximum drive traction. This
phenomenon is particularly useful in a coiler mechanism wherein the
lines have knots and wherein the slinger (to be described)
operating beneath the coiler drive sheave 10 sets up undulations in
the line in the process of laying it in a coil beneath the
mechanism. It also works to advantage if the plane of the coiler
sheave is not accurately aligned with the direction in which line
is fed to it, such as if the line is temporarily deflected by a
person or object in the stretch between coiler and hauler.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 the presser wheel 24 acts
by gravity as suggested by the dotted arrow in FIG. 6. To some
extent its weight including that of its handle shaft 26 and
adjacent end portion of its pivoted support arm 28 is offset by
that of the opposite end portion of the support arm 28 and link 40
pivotally connected thereto, later to be described in connection
with the associated latch mechanism of which it is a part.
Line L fed downward over the coiler sheave 10 enters a downwardly
tapered funnelling shield or guide 42 of interrupted frustoconical
form having on its bottom an out-turned mounting flange 42a by
which it is bolted to the frame plate or table 18 in registry with
an opening 18a in the table. The opening 18a is of the same size or
slightly larger than the bottom opening in the guide 42 so as to
pass the line freely through the table 18 and down into the rotary
slinger tube 44. The frustoconical form of the entrance guide 42
for the slinger tube 44 is interrupted in the sense that it does
not form FIGS. 6 complete frustoconical encircling member for the
reason that one side of it is open so as to receive the rims of the
coiler sheave 10. Intrusion of the sheave 10 horizontally through
the upper portion of the guide 42 is sufficient to position the
base of the sheave groove over the opening 18a through which the
descending line L most pass. From the upright edge 42b, which is
adjacent one exterior side of the coiler sheave 10 (see 6 " and 8)
the guide 42 extends circumferentially across the front or off-bear
side of the coiler sheave 10 to a second edge 42c which is in
registry with the adjacent edge of a slot 18b formed in the base
plate 18 extending from the outer edge of the plate to the aperture
in the plate. This slot will pass the line L for threading of the
coiler. With the elbow-shaped tubular slinger 44 arrested in its
indexed line threading position as shown in FIG. 8, its own
longitudinally extending threading slot 44a lies in registry with
the frame plate slot 18b and thereby permits threading of line
transversely of its length into the coiling machine through the
slots 44a and 18b and into a position where the line is disposable
in the sheave groove.
The remaining segment of the interrupted funnelling guide 42 is the
wedge-shaped segment 42d mounted on the bed plate 18 in a position
to project up into the lower side of the tapered groove in sheave
10 to which it generally conforms in shape with slight clearance
between the sides of the groove and the edges of the segment 42d as
shown best in FIG. 3. This wedge-shaped segment of the guide 42
serves not only a guiding or deflecting function which directs the
line downwardly through the plate aperture 18a into the tubular
slinger 44, but it serves in effect as a line "peeler." In this
latter capacity, in the event a line becomes stuck in the base of
the groove of sheave 10, it will be stripped out of the groove and
down into the slinger much in the manner of the line peeler or
stripper disclosed in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 3,034,767. Also,
the position of the segment 42d and its angular relationship to a
radius line of the sheave 10 to the element 42d is such as to
enable it to serve this deflecting function efficiently. As will be
noted in FIG. 8, this latter angular relationship is served and the
segment is most easily made if the segment 42d is not of a true
conical surface configuration but that of a simple cylinder, the
elements of which are perpendicular to the top plane of the plate
18 which supports it.
Rotational support for the elbow-shaped tubular slinger 44 is
provided by a bearing means 46 mounted on the underside of plate 18
to encircle the central aperture 18a in such plate. A sprocket 44b
integrally encircling the upper end of the slinger tube 44
immediately beneath the support bearing 46 is engaged by a free and
deflectable stretch of endless drive chain 48 which encircles the
horizontally spaced driven sprocket 40 and idler sprocket 42.
Sprocket 40 is on a shaft 54 journalled in and passing upwardly
through the frame plate 18 and on its upper end has a bevel gear
56. Both gear 56 and sprocket 50 are keyed to shaft 54. Bevel gear
56 meshes with a eevel gear 58 on a horizontal shaft 60 which in
turn is driven by a chain-and-sprocket transmission 62 including a
sprocket on the shaft 60 and a sprocket on a slip clutch bushing 64
encircling and mounted upon the support and drive shaft 14 for the
coiler sheave 10 (FIG. 3). The arrangement is such that driven
rotation of the shaft 14 to turn the sheave 10 also acts through
the slip clutch mechanism including the bushing 64 to drive the
bevel gear 58 and thereby the endless chain 48 engaging the
sprocket 44b by which to rotate the elbow-shaped slinger 44 about
its vertical rotation axis. The use of chain 48 engaging sprocket
44b permits incorporation of a threading slot in the sprocket by
which to insert and remove line L from the mechanism, without the
presence of the slot causing interruption of the rotational drive
of the slinger when the sheave 10 is being rotated. Use of a slip
clutch in the drive connection from the sheave drive to the slinger
drive permits the slinger to be stopped positively in its indexing
position by the latch mechanism shortly to be described, without
necessity of interrupting drive rotation of the sheave 10.
As will be seen in FIGS. 3 through 8, the longitudinally extending
threading slot 44a in the slinger is located on its side which
faces the direction of rotation of the slinger with the mechanism
driven in the direction to coil line. The elbow-shaped slinger tube
44 causes the line being advanced through it by the driven sheave
10 to be Thrown outwardly in a descending helical pattern so as to
settle in a coil centered beneath the slinger.
Tn order to confine and shape the coil of line being formed by
rotation of the slinger, it is preferred to provide a tubular
receiver or tub 70 directly beneath and concentrically with the
slinger, such as by positioning it directly on the deck of the
vessel V. The interior wall of this receiver is tapered upwardly by
a small angle such as of the order of a few degrees such that the
line does not tend to hang up on the side walls of the receptacle
but settles immediately on the coil being formed at the bottom and
in orderly fashion coil by coil upon itself. The side wall has a
relatively wide gap 70a extending from the top thereof an
appreciable distance toward the bottom and, in the example, all the
way to the bottom, which gap is sufficiently wide to enable
reception of the floats on the leading ends of pot warps in the
initial phase when the warp is being threaded into the coil; also
to enable a person to reach in through the side wall directly and
to directly withdraw the coiled line thus formed out the slot
without having to lift the line upwardly through the top of the
receptacle. Typically, a lashing thong L.sub.t will be laid on the
deck extending into the interior of the receptacle 70 through the
slot 70a so that its ends project free of the coil of line and so
that it lies beneath the formed coil. Thereupon the thong L.sub.t
may be tied around the coil to hold the coil loops together for
convenient storage.
In fulfillment of certain objectives of this invention, in order to
thread line into and remove it safely and quickly from the coiling
mechanism, as previously stated, it is desirable to provide a
positive latching mechanism which arrests the slinger (despite
continued drive of sheave 10) with its wall slot 44a and its
sprocket slot in registry with the slot 18b in the mounting plate
18. To this end, a latch arm 74 pivoted at 76 intermediate its ends
on a frame extension 78 has an upturned tip 74a at one end which is
adapted to engage in a recess or slot in the web of sprocket 44b as
depicted in FIG. 3. Such engagement occurs when the latch arm 74 as
it appears in FIG. 6 is rotated in clockwise direction from its
normal retracted position shown in that figure wherein it rests
against a stop ledge 80 on the frame extension 78. Link 40
previously mentioned depends from a pivotal connection 40a with the
end of support arm 28 for the presser wheel 24 and has an edge 40b
which normally rests and slides against a pin 82 projecting from
one side of the latch arm 74. There is a notch 40c in the same edge
of the link 40 which is adapted to receive the pin 82 and is so
formed as to hold this pin and with it the latch arm 74 in the
latching position of the arm when the latter is swung in a
clockwise direction (FIG. 6) so as to raise the pin to the level of
the notch 40c (FIG. 8). This locking action of the pin 82 in the
notch 40c occurs automatically by gravity due to the angled
position of the link 40, once the latch arm is swung above its
latching position with the dog 74a engaged with the recess or
opening in the sprocket 44b. In order to effect such engagement it
is simply necessary to raise the handle end 26' of the shaft
supporting the presser wheel 24 to a height which thrusts the link
40 downward to a position where the notch 40c passes the pin 82,
that is to a position above the position of those parts shown in
FIG. 8. Thereupon lowering of the handle 26", raising the link 40,
causes the link to pick up the pin 82 and thereby rock the latch
arm 74 to the necessary degree to engage and lock the slinger.
Under these conditions the slinger is stopped in the position
described and the presser wheel 24 is raised out of contact with
the line L if any would otherwise be at that time in the groove of
sheave 10.
In order to safely start the operation of the coiler from its
latched threading position shown in FIG.8 there is a handle 40d
projecting laterally from one side of the link 40 where it may be
grasped by an operator in one hand who simultaneously grasps the
presser wheel control handle 26' (FIG. 3) with the other hand. Both
of these handles must be simultaneously grasped by the operator in
order to release the mechanism for operation, and this is done as a
safety precuation which assures that both hands of the operator are
clear of the moving slinger parts at the instant they begin to
move, bearing in mind that the slip clutch mechanism comprising the
bushing 64 permits the drive motor 12 to continue to turn during
interruptions during which line is threaded or removed into and
from the coiler. Now in order to unlatch the coiler slinger and to
restore the presser wheel 24 to operating position (from the raised
condition in FIG. 8 to that in FIG. 6) there is a cord 84 which
extends between the corresponding ends of the arms 28 and 74 and
which cord is slack in the latched condition of the mechanism shown
in FIG. 8. The procedure is to grasp the handle 40d in one hand
while lifting slightly on the handle 26' in the opposite hand, draw
the link 40 to clear its notch 40c from the pin 82, lower the
handle 26' so as to advance the presser wheel against a line L in
the drive sheave 10, thereby to pick up the slack in the cord 84
and with further downward motion of the presser wheel to swing the
latch arm 74 in a counterclockwise direction to its position shown
in FIG. 6 with the notch 40c located above and clear of the pin 82.
The latching mechanism parts are shown fragmentarily in FIG. 7 and
9 corresponding respectively to the relative positions thereof in
the overall views of FIGS. 6 and 8.
In the modification shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the mechanism
basically is similar to that shown in the prceding figures, but
there has been added to the mechanism for positioning the presser
roll 24 and for operating the latch means a hydraulic piston and
cylinder jack 100, one end of which at 102 is pivotally connected
to the latch control end of arm 28, such as to the pivot pin 40a of
the link 40, and the opposite end of which is fixedly joined at 104
to the upright frame plate 16. The jack 100 extends generally
parallel to the link 40 such that extending and contracting the
jack is effective to swing the presser wheel arm clockwise or
counterclockwise between the positions shown in FIG. 10.
The hydraulic jack 100 has two purposes. The first is to enable an
operator at the control station S, from which he controls not only
the operation and direction of operation of the hydraulic motors
for the hauler and coiler, also from this same station to operate a
second and separate control valve so as to raise the presser wheel
24 and simultaneously actuate the latch mechanism thereby which
causes the latch bar 74 to stop the slinger in its threading
position shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In this cycle of operation the
hydraulic jack 100 is energized with hydraulic fluid in such a
direction as to contract the length of the jack and thereby to
swing the presser wheel support arm 28 clockwise to a point at
which the link notch 40c picks up the pin 82, whereupon removal of
such pressure or reversal of the differential pressure applied to
the jack 100 causes the latch arm 74 to be swung clockwise (FIG.
10) so as to stop the slinger in the threading or indexing
position. At the end of this cycle of arresting the slinger in its
indexing position no further function is performed by the jack 100
until the coiler is rethreaded with line and ready to operate,
whereupon the same dual manual release procedure is required as in
the preceding embodiment in order to condition the mechanism for
operation.
The second function of the hydraulic jack 100 occurs during normal
operation of the coiler and is one of increasing the hold-down or
actuation pressure applied by the presser wheel 24 to the line L
passing through the coiler. This is accomplished by applying
hydraulic pressure to the jack 100 in such a direction as to rotate
the arm 28 in the counterclockwise direction (FIG. 10) and is done
at such times as when knots are being passed through the associated
hauler or when an extra heavy line load on the hauler requires an
additional assist from the coiler, in which the line would
otherwise slip in the groove of the drive sheave 10 and usually
also in the groove of the hauler sheave.
FIG. 11 schematically depicts the jack 100 and the associated
reversible control valve 106 which may be of a metering type so as
to vary the pressure applied by the jack 100. As shown
schematically the valve 106 is of the neutral seeking type whereby
under normal operation no pressure in either direction is applied
to the jack 100. Turning the control lever 106a in one direction
progressively increases the contraction force of the jack and
turning it oppositely progressively increases the extension force
of the jack. The control valve 13f for the motors may be of the
same type if so desired, although in that event the neutral seeking
feature is normally not desired.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the
above disclosure of the preferred embodiment which from the broader
standpoint is illustrative and not limiting of the scope of the
inventive concepts claimed.
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