Swing-out rail system separates and reconnects the overhead traveling crane rails of a building to provide for the passage of a thick concrete radiation shield sliding door through the rails. In the swing-out position, the rail cantilevered from an axial shaft

Pitkin, R. G.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

December 1966	 Brief 66-10713 
•1	 AEC-NASA TECH BRIEF 
AEC-NASA Tech Briefs describe innovations resulting from the research and development program 
of the U.S. AEC or from AEC-NASA interagency efforts. They are issued to encourage commercial 
application. Tech Briefs are published by NASA and may be purchased, at 15 cents each, from 
the Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information, Springfield, Virginia 22151. 
Swing-Out Rail System Separates Overhead Crane Rails 
Swing-Out Rail 	 - 
Matching 
Fixed Rail
- 
:----::	 I	 — -	 Pivot Shaft p 
- -> .--r	 fl-'T I	 —	 -	 - Low Friction	 Opening Spanned By 
Load Pad	 Swing-Out Rail
Motor-Reducer 
Drive System 
shaft. In the normal position, the swing out portion 
was simply supported at each end. 
How it's done: 
The swing-out rail consists of a section of crane 
rail mounted onto a beam designed to support the 
fully loaded crane wheel loads. To the pivot end of 
the beam is rigidly attached a horizontal bearing plate 
which in turn is attached to a vertical pivot shaft. 
The lower face of this plate turns on a piece of low 
friction bearing metal. A radial bronze bearing main-
tains shaft alignment. The lower end of the shaft is 
carried by a ball thrust bearing and radial needle 
roller bearing combination. The combination saves 
Amok (,ntinued overleaf) 
Now
The problem: 
To remotely separate and reconnect overhead 
traveling crane rails in order to provide for the 
passage of a thick concrete radiation shield sliding 
door through the rails. It was desired to have a 
traveling overhead crane operate through the entire 
length of a building, with the requirement that the 
building would be divided at times by a sliding door 
operating through the crane rails. 
The solution: 
A system was designed to swing out a portion of the 
crane rail for the passage of the door. In the swing-
out position, the rail cantilevered from an axial 
This document was prepared under the sponsorship of the Atomic 
Energy Commission and/or the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration. Neither the United States Government nor any per-
son acting on behalf of the United States Government assumes any
liability resulting from the use of the information contained in this 
document, or warrants that the use of any information, apparatus, 
method, or process disclosed in this document may not infringe pri-
vately owned rights.
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19660000711 2020-03-11T17:43:12+00:00Z
radial space over that required for a tapered roller 
bearing. A thrust nut threaded on the shaft is 
tightened to put the shaft in tension, so as to lock up 
the two thrust bearings against one another. This 
removes slack and stiffens the assembly so that the 
large moment produced when the rail is supported 
entirely by the shaft, when its far end is un-
supported, will limit the deflections to only those due 
to stresses in the materials. This is necessary because 
when the rail swings to its closed position, it must 
match accurately on a pad at its far end. Any appreci-
able sag would cause it to hit the edge of the pad and 
prevent it from closing completely. 
A sprocket attached to the lower end of the shaft 
is connected through a chain drive to a speed reducer 
driven by a motor through a second chain. Limit 
switches stop the drive when the rail reaches its 
limit in either direction. A torque limiting device 
built into the reducer stops the drive in case of an
overload. This protects against failure of a limit 
switch to stop the drive or against the presence of an 
obstruction in the path of the rail. 
Note: 
Inquiries concerning this innovation may be 
directed to:
Technology Utilization Officer 
AEC-NASA Space Nuclear Propulsion 
Office 
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission 
Washington, D.C. 20545 
Reference: B66-10713 
Patent status: 
No patent action is contemplated by AEC or NASA.

Source: R. G. Pitkin

of Parsons-Jurden Corporation

under contract to

AEC-NASA Space Nuclear Propulsion Office

(NU-0094) 
1 
3S)I	 Ll	 'd 
ai 
Brief 66-10713	 Category 05


Swing-out rail system separates overhead crane rails

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