The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

274 THE MECHANICAL HANDLING OF MATERIAL m front view and section. The component parts are a spindle a which carries a right- hand thread of a steep pitch marked b, and a portion c with a fine left-hand thread. Both portions of the screw fit into and carry each half of the gripping portion I and k. 1 he spindle a is secured to the carrier frame /z, round which point the carriage is suspended, and the lever h which is keyed to the spindle carries a balance weight i. If this lever h is moved to the left the jaws open, whilst, if it is turned to the right, it Fig. 399. Application of Werner Coupling. closes in such a way that first the jaw k with the quick thread closes upon the rope, and with any further movement of the lever the small pitch screw will close the other jaw. The whole of this can be performed by a movement of not more than 90° of the starting lever. Fig. 399 shows the automatic opening and closing of the grip. To couple up, the workman pushes the carriage in the direction of the arrow when the starting lever a engages with an inclined plane b; this lifts the lever in an upright position when the lower end of the lever c engages with the tripper d, which forces the coupling lever right over through an arc of 90° in the beginning of this movement, which secures the clamp to the rope. The uncoupling which is shown in the same illustration is a reversal of the action, as may be seen in the various positions in dotted lines. and employed a clip for a ropeway under his own supervision, where the grip was obtained through two wedges placed normally on a hori- zontal plane, which gave excellent results on gradients of 1 in 2. In this clip the amount of gripping was in direct proportion to the steep- ness of the grade, and, therefore, exactly what was wanted. Unfor- tunately the device was too costly to be generally used. 1887, Mr J. Pearce Roe devised In the year Fig. 400. Bleichert’s “ Automat ” Coupling. In 1894, about the same time that the Werner Coupling, which went under the name of “Universal Clip,” was at the zenith of its popularity, a different principle altogether was introduced by Paul Spitzek. It occurred to him that the weight of the carriage itself might be utilised for coupling it to the hauling rope. Attractive as this idea appears at first sight, the bringing into practice represents many difficulties all due to one main cause, t.e., the fact that one half of the gripping device would have to be attached to the trolley on the rail rope, and the other portion to the carrying frame which is suspended from it, and which might be at right angles to it when the rope is horizontal ; or it may form a sharp or obtuse angle when the carriage negotiates upward or downward