US2121328A - Locomotive tender - Google Patents

Description

June 21, 193s. EP, ROESCH 2,121,328

LOCOMOTIVE TENDER Filed May 19, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 '1: ,l sg 16 12 *2i i?? n .37 l' 134 l La@ f" 36 s 4a l'. a l 454! .lf3 ZI ff f y -INVENTOR y egzf/f @0656/2 ATTORNEY5 June 21, 1938.

F. P. RoEscH 2,121,328

LIOCOMOTIVE` TENDER Filed Maly i9, 193e 2 sheets-sheet 2 1f ATToRNEY Patented June 21, 1938` y UNM-'ED STATES AisNT oFFicE LOCOMTIVE TENDER Frank P. Roesch, Chicago,` Ill., assignor,v by mesne assignments, to The Standard Stoker Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application May 19, 1936, Serial No. 80,518

14 Claims.

therein a means for urging coal toward the locomotive. This means includes a trough housing a conveyor screw, the illustratedarrangementbeing of approved construction and its commercial use is extensive. The flow of coal from the bin to the trough,V in such arrangements, is controlled by a series of slidable plates mounted over the open mouth of the trough. As evident from the disclosure of the patent, the slidable plates are arranged to be moved forward for permitting passage of coal into the trough as thesupply diminishes.

It is the practice, `in the railroad industry, to replenish the coal supply prior to complete depletion of the fuel bin. The zone of coal at the rear of the bin seldom enters the stoker trough and therefore rests upon the `steel sheets forming the rearward portion of the fuel bin.

Because of this condition, the steel sheets forming the rear portion of the fuel bin become corroded, necessitating their frequent removal and replacement. Furthermore, coal which is `dormant for a long period deteriorates in quality through weathering and is consequently of little fuel value.

In emergencies, it is sometimes necessary to utilize all the coal in the fuely bin. To do this, the stoker operator usually employed a pick to loosen the Zone of dormant coal at the rear portion of the bin. Thismanual operation is arduous, time consuming and dangerous.

Accordingly, it is the main object of this invention to improve locomotive tenders of the character specified by an arrangement of parts whereby the coal will not remain dormant for long periods upon the sheets of the fuel bin.

Specifically, the invention contemplates a novel arrangement of slidable plates over the stoker trough which permits the primary feed of'coal from the bin into the trough to occur from the rearmost zone of the bin.

Other objects reside in specific details of construction which permit #free sliding movement of the plates, and their ready removal from and insertion within the guideways thereof.

Further objects and the advantages of this invention over past practicewill become apparent actuated shaft 3l.

as the following description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein,

` Fig. l is a central vertical longitudinal section through the 4forward portion of a locomotive tender, illustrating the invention in similar section;

Fig.. 2 is a plan View taken on the line 2--2 Aof the structure illustrated in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a view in section taken along line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View in plan taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views taken on lines 5--5 and 6 6, respectively, of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional viewtaken on line 'l-l of Fig. 6; and

Fig. `8 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along line 8 8 of Fig. 7.

On these drawings, the tender is indicated by T and comprises a base frame I on which is supported a water tank Ii having a fuel bin. 4l2 formed in its forward portion. The fuel bin I2 is vdefined by a rear sheet i3, the side sloping sheets Ill, l and the coal gate I6 which extends Vbetween bulkheads Il, I8 atthe front of the tender. In its bottom the fuel bin l2 is separated from the watercompartment ISby a steel sheet 2t, the opposite sides of the latter joining the lower edges of respective side sloping sheets I ll, l5. The sheet "Zllfis depressed below the plane of the tender deck plate 2| and'receives a trough 22 of a stolzer conveying mechanism S.

The` stoker conveying mechanism comprises the trough 22 in which is mounted a conveyor screw 23 having its rearward end journalled in a removable bearing 24 and operably connected at its forward end with a shaft 25 driven by transmission gearing 26 carried by the terminal member 2l. Terminal member 2l is mounted in an alcove 28 formed at the front end of the v"tender below the plane of the deck plate 2l `and houses a conveyorscrew 29 which is disposed subjacent the trough conveyor screw 23 to receive fuel therefrom for delivery toward the loco-` motive.y Transmission gearing 30 is carried by the terminal member 2l for driving the conveyor screw 29 from its rearward end; the gearings 26, 30 are each operatively connected with a power At its upperrearward portion 32, the terminal member 21 constitutes a forward extension of the trough 22` and is in abutting relation with the forward end of said trough 22 at a point within the alcove 28. `The upper rearward portion 32 of the terminal member 2l supports a Crusher 33 which arches over the conveyor screw 23 and is disposed in a plane below and forward of the coal gate I6.

The trough 22 is seated upon the bottom sheet and is provided with laterally extending flanges 34, 35, one at each side of the upper marginal edge of the trough., Flanges 34, extend from the forward end of the trough 22 rearwardly to the rear sheet I3 and are secured, by means of welding, to the lower portions of the respective side sloping sheets I4, I5. The rear sheet I3 carries brackets 33 on which is mounted a guide plate 31 inclined at approximately7 the same angle as the sloping portion I3@ of the sheet 3 and arranged with its lower end spaced slightly forward of vthe conveyor screw bearing 24. This construction assures that coal in the rearward Zone of the fuel bin i2 will fall onto theV conveying flight of the screw 23 and not upon the bearing 24 or in the space immediately at the rear thereof.

In approximately'the plane of the deck plate 2l, the trough flanges 34, 35 are each provided with a runway 33 within which are mounted the flat sides 3S of plates 46). arranged in a series, and extend from a point slightly forward of the coal gate i3 rearwardly toward the downwardly sloping guide plate 31 but terminate short thereof a distance sufficient to form an opening 4I for the preliminary feed of coal into therearward portion of the trough 22. In the present embodiment, the plates 49 are bowed upwardly a suicient distance above the trough conveyor screw 23 to permit conveyance of lump coal therebeneath and into the zone ofaction of the crusher 33, the latter being disposed below the plates 43 for the purpose .which will be hereinafter set forth.

Forward of the trough- flanges 34, 35, the terminal member 21 is provided with at table-like surfaces 4I, 42, respectively, which are in approximate horizontal alignment with the bottom surface of each runway 38. These vflat table-like surfaces 4I, 42 extend along each side of the upwardly opened mouth 43 of the terminal member 21. and serve to support the deck plate 2| and the hood 44, the latter being mounted over the mouth 43 and hinged as at'45 to the deck plate 2|. The hinged hood 44 is so shaped that the foremost fuel control plate may be moved thereunder, the flat sides of which rest upon the flat table-like surfaces 4I, #l2 of the terminal member 2. By swinging the hood 44 about its hinge 45, each plate 4Q, when moved to a position forward of therunways'33 may be removed, or, insertion of the plates '43 into the runways may be accomplished placing each over the open mouth 43 of the terminal member and moving each plate rearwardly to an engaging relation with the runways 38.

The described construction is also of utility in maintaining the screw 23 in good working cond"- lis provided with foot members 33dA disposed along each side thereof for engaging the grooves 48 formed in the terminal member 2l, whereby upward Vmovement of the crusher is normally prevented. Pins'such as 41, passing through one The plates 4) are set of oppositely arranged foot members 33a and intof the terminal member 21, normally prevent fore and aft movement of said crusher. Upon removal of pins 41, the crusher 33 may be moved to the left a distance sufficient to cause the foot member 33a thereof to disengage the grooves 46, whereupon, the crusher may be removed by lifting the same vertically.

The conveyor screw Z3 may then be removed from the trough 22 by loosening the bolts of the bearing 24, permitting rearward movement of the screw 23 and bearing 24 a distance sufficient to cause the screw 23 to become disengaged from driving relation with the shaft 25. As apparent from Figs. 1 and 4, the crusher 33 may also be removed from its position over the screw 23 when the plates 40 are in the relation shown in Fig. l. This is accomplished by disposing the crusher 33 slightly to the left of the coal gate i6 and by providing an overlapping relation between the rst plate 40 and the crusher 33 which is less than the distance required to move the crusher leftward for'disengaging the latter from the grooves 46.

The opening 4I for the preliminary feed of coal into the rearward portion of the trough 22 is maintained by the provision of means for limiting rearward movement of the plates 40 from the position shown in Figs. l and 2. This limiting means is formed by a wall 4B at each end of runway 38 of the flanges 34, 35 and against which wall the ends of the flat sides 39 of the rearmost plate 4B are arranged to abut. Extending forwardly from this wall 48 is a pocket 49 which opens inwardly into the trough 22 and permits passage into the trough 22 of any coal dust which may accumulate between the flat sides 39 of the rearmost plate 4B and the wall 48. It will be readily understood that such accumulation of coal dust would prevent the rearward movement of the plates 40 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

yIn operation, assuming the fuel bin I2 to be filled with coal and the plates 4U in the position as shown in Figs, l and 2, the coal passing into the trough 22 through the preliminary feed opening 4|, is conveyed forwardly by the screw 23 which cooperates with the crusher 33 to reduce large lumps of fuel to a size more suitable for eicient ring. The crushed coal drops onto the subjacent conveyor screw 28 for delivery toward the locomotive. It will be apparent that the preliminary feed opening 4I controls the flow of a considerable Zone of coal into the trough 22;

consequently, the coal adjacent the coal gate I6 will be available, for a greater period than heretofore has been possible, as an emergency supply which may be fed manually into the locomotive rebox during periods when the Stoker' mechanism is not in operation for any reason.

Upon depletion of the coal supply in the Zone adjacent the opening 4i, the Stoker operator draws forwardly the foremost plate 40 to a position underneath the hinged hood 44, thereby creating a secondary fuel feed opening immediately rearward of the coal gate i6. The plates 40 are each moved forward successively as the fuel supply is depleted rearward of the coal gate IS. Any reserve of fuel remaining above the plates 40 will be in the form of a ridge extending transversely between the side sheets I4, I5, and since this ridge is unsupported at its forward or rearward sides, this ridge will be broken down and mixed with additional coal supplied to the bin I2 when replenishment thereof is necessary.

From the foregoing, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that by the present invention, coal will not remain for long periods at any point of the bin I2; consequently there will be very little weathering of coal and deterioration of the steel sheets of the fuel bin. Futhermore, the construction is such that a supply of coal adjacent the coal gate I6 is available to the stoker operator for greater periods than possible heretofore.

I claim:

1. A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal, said bin including a rear wall and a coal gate at the forward end of said bin, a conveyor arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a plurality of shiftable plates shielding a portion of said conveyor from the Coal in said bin, means carried by the tender at the lower portion of said fuel bin affording slidable support for said shiftable plates, and a stop element disposed forwardly of said rear' wall,

said plates extending from a point adjacent said coal gate rearwardly to said stop element forming an opening for the preliminary feed of coal from said bin to the rearward end of said conveyor.

2. A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal, said bin including arear wall and a coal gate at the forward end of said i bin, a conveyor arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a plurality of shiftable plates shielding a portion of said'conveyor from the coal in said bin, means carried by the tender at the lower portion of said fuel bin affording slidable supportfor said shiftable plates, and a stop `and a coal gate at the forward end of said bin,

a 'trough arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a conveyor in said trough, a plurality of shiftable plates shielding a portion of said conveyor from the coal in said bin, means carried 1 by the tender at the lower portion of said fuel bin affording slidable support for said shiftable plates, and a stop element disposed forwardly of said rear wall, said plates extending from a point adjacent said coal gate rearwardly to said stop element forming an opening for the preliminary feed of coal from said bin to the rearward end of said conveyor.

4. A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal, said bin including a rear wall and a coal gate at the forward end of said bin, a trough arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a conveyor screw in said trough, a plurality of shiftable plates shielding a portion of said conveyor screw from the coal in said bin, means carried by the tender at the lower portion of said fuel bin aiording slidable support for said shiftable plates, and a stop element disposed forwardly of said rear wall, said plates extending from a point adjacent said coal gate rearwardly to said stop element forming an opening for the preliminary feed of coal from said bin to the rearward end of said conveyor screw.

5. A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal, an approximately horizontally disposed deck for said tender forward of said bin,

a conveyor lextending below the plane of said deck arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a plurality of shiftable plates over said conveyor, means carried by the tender at the lower portion of said fuel bin affording slidable support for said shiftable plates, said plates extending above the plane of said deck and arranged for movement forwardly, and a removable hood forward of said bin extending-from the plane of said deck to a point above said shiftable plates, said hood arranged to receive one of said shiftable plates thereunder for withdrawal of such plate from its operative position upon removal of said hood.

'6. A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal, an approximately horizontally disposed deck for said tender forward of said bin, conveyor extending below the plane of said deck arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a plurality of shiftable plates over said conveyor,A means carried by the tender at the lower portion of said fuel bin affording slidable support for said shiftable plates, said plates extending above the plane of said deck and are rangedfor movement forwardly, and a removable hood forward vof said bin extending from the plane of said deck to a point above said shiftable plates and over a portion of said conveyor, said hood arranged to receive one of said i shiftable plates thereunder for withdrawal of moval of said hood.

7. A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal,l an approximately horizontally disposed deck for said tender forward of said bin, a conveyor extending below the plane of said deck karranged to receive coal by gravtiy from said bin, a plurality of shiftable plates over said conveyor, vmeans carried by the tender atthe lower portion of said fuel bin affording slidable support for said shiftable plates, said plates extending above the plane of said deck and arranged for movement forwardly, and ahood for-- ward of said bin extending above the plane of said deck and being hinged thereto, said hood arranged to receive one of said shiftable plates. 8. A locoiriotive` tender comprising a bin for the` storage of coal, an approximately horizontally disposed deck for said tender forward of said bin, a conveyor extending below the plane of said deck arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a plurality of shiftable plates over said conveyor, means carried by the tender at the lower portion of said fuel bin affording slidable support for said shiftable plates, said plates extending above the plane of said deck and arranged for movement forwardly, and a hood forward of said bin extending above the plane of said deck and over a portion of said conveyor, said hood being removable from its position over said conveyor and arranged to receive one of said shiftable plates when in position over such portion of said conveyor.

9. A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal, an approximately horizontally disposed deck for said tender forward of said bin, a conveyor extending below the plane of said deck arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a plurality of shiftable plates over said conveyor, means carried by the tender at the lower portion of said fuel bin affording slidable support for said shiftable plates, said plates extending above the plane of said deck and arranged for movement forwardly, and a hood forward of said bin extending above the plane of said deck and over a portion of said conveyor, said hood being hinged with respect to said deck and arranged to receive one of said shiftable plates when in position over such portion of said conveyor.

10` A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal, a coal gate at the forward end of said bin, an approximately horizontally disposed deck for said tender extending forward of said coal gate, a conveyor extending below the plane of said deck arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a crusher extending above the plane of said deck and cooperating with said conveyor for reducing lump coal, a plurality of shiftable plates extending over said conveyor including a plate adjacent said coal gate arranged to slide over said crusher, means carried by the tender atv the lower portion of said fuel bin affording slidable support for said shiftable plates, and a removable hood forward of said coal gate extending from the plane of said deck to apoint above said Crusher and shiftable plates, said hood arranged to receive one of said plates thereunder and above said crusher for withdrawal of such plate from its operative position upon removal of said hood.

11. A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal, said bin including a rear wall and a coal gate at the forward end of said bin, an approximately horizontally disposed deck for said tender extending forward of said coal gate, a conveyor extending below the plane of said deck arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a plurality of shiftable plates shielding a portion of said conveyor from the coal in said bin, means carried by the tender at the lower portion of said fuel bin affording slidable support for said shiftable plates, a stop element disposed forwardly of said rear wall, saidplates extending from a point adjacent said coal gate rearwardly to, said stop element forming an opening for the preliminary feed of coal from said bin to the rearward end of said conveyor. y

12. A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal, said bin including a rear wall and a coal gate at the forward end of said bin, an approximately horizontally disposed deck for said tender extending forwardl of said coal gate, a trough in said bin extending below the plane of said deck and arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a conveyor in said trough for urging fuel forwardly, said trough being provided along its opposite sides with runways, a plurality of shiftable plates extending over said conveyor and being mounted for movement in said runways, and a stop element disposed forwardly of said rear wall, said plates extending from a point adjacent said coal gate rearwardly to said stop element forming an opening for the preliminary feed of coal from said bin to the rearward end of said trough.

13. A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal, said bin including a rear wall and a coal gate at the forward end of said bin, an approximately horizontally disposed deck for said tender extending forward of said coal gate, a trough in said bin extending below the plane of said deck and arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a conveyor in said trough for urging fuel forwardly, said trough being provided along its opposite sides with runways, and a plurality of shiftable plates extending over said conveyor and being mounted for movement in said runways, said runways terminating short of said rear wall and forming a means for limiting rearward movement of said plates, said plates extending from a point adjacent said coal gate rearwardly to said means to form an opening for the preliminary feed of coal from said bin to the rearward end of said trough.

14. A locomotive tender comprising a bin for the storage of coal, said bin including a rear wall and a coal gate at the forward end of said bin, an approximately horizontally disposed deck for said tender extending forward of said coal gate,

a trough in said bin extending below the plane' of said deck and arranged to receive coal by gravity from said bin, a conveyor in said trough for urging fuel forwardly, said trough being provided along its opposite sides with runways, and a plurality of shiftable plates extending over said trough and being mounted for movement in said runways, said runways terminating short of said rear wall and forming a means for limiting rearward movement of said plates, said plates extending from a point adjacent said coal gate rearwardly to said means to form an opening for the preliminary feed of coal from said bin to the rearward end of said trough, said trough being provided adjacent said means with coal dust pockets which open into said trough.

FRANK P. ROESCII.

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