Importance

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Abstract

The invention relates to gravity-closing tongs for handling steel ingots, slabs, and similar products. The tongs include two legs, each of which has two arms which are supported, in a tongs housing, on pivots disposed horizontally and transversely to the plane in which the tongs legs move. The lower arms of the tongs legs are provided with gripping pins or similar devices, and the upper arms are hinged to links of equal length. An adjusting device permits axial displacement of the tongs pivots and an accumulator intensifies the force with which the tongs gripping pins are applied. In order to minimize the investment for intensifying the contact pressure of the tongs gripping pins and to mitigate impacts or shocks on the drive of the adjusting device(s), the accumulator includes two horizontally acting force-accumulating elements (compression springs) which are each arranged between the upper end of the corresponding tongs leg and the extreme end of the corresponding link. The inner ends of the links are hingedly connected by a pin which is guided in slots of the side plates of the tongs casing for vertical displacement and, being disposed transverse to the plane in which the tongs legs move, forms a toggle joint. The limited vertical displacement of the pin of the toggle joint is effected via a tension member which is connectible to the load suspension device of a crane or similar lifting equipment.

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First Claim