AU611738B2

AU611738B2 - Rotatable backhoe and a use therefor

Info

Publication number: AU611738B2
Application number: AU25926/88A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Ivon A. Chaumont
Original assignee: Vale Canada Ltd
Current assignee: Vale Canada Ltd
Priority date: 1987-11-26
Filing date: 1988-11-25
Publication date: 1991-06-20
Anticipated expiration: 2008-11-25
Also published as: AU2592688A; EP0318271A1; JPH01165832A

Description

I ~I S F Ref: 76680 FORM COMMONWEALTH OF AUS L 1 7 3 PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

rOR OFFICE USE: Class Int Class 4 t) 4B Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: Related Art: Name and Address of Applicant:

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,e S Inco Limited Royal Trust Tower Toronto-Dominion Centre Toronto Ontario M5K 1N4

CANADA

Address for Service: Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia Complete Specification for the invention entitled: Rotatable Backhoe and a Use Therefor The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us 5845/3 3u~r uuutJ; oodnv iSUD OFFI CE 2 5NOV 1980 5845 /2 PC-3 113 ROTATABLE BACKHOE AND A USE THEREFOR

ABSTRACT

A backhoe having a scoop adapted to be rotated about a horizontal axis. A turntable group disposed between the backhoe group and the chassis of the backhoe permits the rotation of the scoop. In particular by rotating the scoop substantially parallel to the ground, the scoop may be used to remove material from underneath a structure.

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50 000 S 50 S 0 00 -14- PC-3113 ROTATABLE BACKHOE AND A USE THEREFOR TECHNICAL FIELD The instant invention relates to excavating apparatus in general and, more particularly, to a backhoe capable of being 5 rotated about a horizontal axis.

BACKGROUND ART A backhoe is a generic name for a common piece of construction equipment. They are generally self-propelled vehicles utilizing tires or tracks for locomotion. An articulated, downwardly pointed, swinging scoop is mounted at one end of the apparatus.

Oftentimes a loading bucket is mounted at the opposite end.

Backhoes are usually used for trenching, digging and/or removing material. The scoop is repeatedly outwardly extended, brought into contact with the ground or the material and then retracted upwardly to generate the desired hole, trench or cause material removal.

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The material is generally disposed along the side of the backhoe or into an adjacent conveyance for subsequent handling. The bucket, if so equipped, is used for leveling or removing material.

It should be appreciated that the backhoe action is limited to essentially vertical operations. The backhoe is mounted on the unit so as to sweep through a vertical axis that is essentially normal to the ground. Available backhoes cannot rotate their scoops so as to operate parallel to the ground.

In particular, the mining community utilizes large conveyor systems to transport material from one area to another. Oftentimes, for a variety of reasons some of the conveyed material (muck, ore, rock, fines, etc.) falls underneath the conveying systems. When the material collects, the conveyor system must actually be shut down and the raterial manually cleaned out so as not to interfere with proper 15 operation of the conveyor. Depending on the type of material, assignee has experienced situations where the material actually oxidizes to form a hard intractable mass. Workers with chippers, hammers, picks, etc. must get under the conveyor and break up and remove the hardened material in order to maintain the maximum 20 efficiency of the conveyor system. It goes without saying that under these circumstances the particular conveyor must be shut down for safety reasons while the manual cleaning operation is carried out.

Clearly a safer and quicker technique to clean beneath the conveyor system is desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, there is provided a backhoe having a rotatable turntable assembly. The turntable assembly enables the boom on a backhoe to be rotated to a horizontal orientation. The turntable is affixed to the body of the apparatus. The backhoe assembly is attached to the turntable. By rotating the turntable, the boom and scoop are rotated simultaneously to any position.

This increased freedom to operate the scoop essentially in a plane parallel with the ground enables the operator to sweep under the conveyor assembly and horizontally pull the fallen material out c i.i I PC-3113 toward him/her. The boom could then be returned to its usual vertical orientation so as to replace the material back onto the conveyor or remove it for subsequent handling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Figure 1 is a partially exploded view of an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional elevation of an embodiment of the invention.

PREFERRED MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 99 i10 Figure 1 is a partially exploded overview of the relevant 9" features of the invention, ereas Figure 2 provides a detailed •cross sectional view of the means for rotating the backhoe.

Turning now to Figure 1. There is depicted backhoe chassis 10. The specific configuration of the backhoe chassis 10 is not relevant to this disclosure. Rather any suitable design (i.e.

propelled, stationery, equipped with a loader, part of an additional piece of equipment, etc.) that functions as a mounting surface is oadequate.

**fee: 0 Similarly, the backhoe group 12 is of a conventional 20 design and, except as modified, is not claimed per se.

Sb The backhoe group 12 includes scoop 14 pivotally supported *by first member 16. The first member 16 is pivotally supported by second member 18 which in turn is supported by boom 20. In order to import the desired degree of movement to the scoop 14, hydraulic cylinders 22A, 22B and 22C are appropriately mounted on the members 16 and 18 and the boom 20. The associated pumps, hydraulic lines and controls are not shown. The cylinder 22C causes the scoop 14 to rise and fall by rising and lowering the members 16 and 18 and the boom The cylinder 22B swings the scoop 14 forward and back. The cylinder 22A alters the angle of inclination of the scoop 14.

The backhoe group 12 includes socket 34 (partially obscured) which is sized to accommodate rod 36. The rod 36 includes bracket 38.

Ls IE 'I PC-3113 Fluid driven cylinder 40 is pinned to plate 32 through eyelets 42. A removable pin (not shown) bridges the eyelets 42 and the head of the cylinder 44. The cylinder 40 is affixed to the boom via bottom 46.

Turning now to Figure 2, the turntable group 24 is shown in greater detail. Pivot cap 26 includes two opposed brackets 48 having sleeved bores 50 therethrough. The sleeved bores 50 are sized to accommodate the rod 36 and are spaced apart so that the socket 34 may fit between them. A pair of apertures 52 receive suitable fasteners such as bolts, pins, etc. (not shown) from the bracket 38.

The pivot cap 26 circumscribes trunnion 28 and is joined to 4* pivot flange 30 by studs 56 and nuts 54. Access hole 60, normally '00:06 sealed, permits the introduction of a lubricant such as grease into 15 lubricant grooves 58.

To install the turntable group 24, the backhoe group 12 is removed from chassis 10 and the plate 32 is affixed to the chassis The trunnion 28 and pivot flange 30 are assembled and back portion 62 of the trunnion 28 is welded to the plate 32. The pivot cap 26 is then bolted to the pivot flange 30. The backhoe group 12 is reattached to the chassis 10 by placing the socket 34 between the o sleeved bores 50. The rod 36 is inserted into the sleeved bores and the socket 34. The fasteners secure the bracket 38 to the apertures 52. The cylinder 40 is then connected to the boom 20 and 25 the eyelets 42. Of course, all the hydraulic lines, couplings and control devices are reconnected as well.

The embodiment shown is a manually operated design. In order to rotate the backhoe group .12, through an arc about horizontal axis 64, the pin passing through the eyelets 42 and the head 44 is removed and the turntable group 24 caused to be rotated degrees (directional arrow 66) thereby bringing the scoop 14 I horizontal to the ground. A stop (not shown) prevents further i rotation. The scoop 14 is then operated scooping and pulling material away from the targeted area. Upon completion of the task, the backhoe group 12 is brought back to the vertical, and the cylinder 40 reconnected. Essentially the entire backhoe group 12 rotates about the fixed trunnion 28. The cylinder 40 maintains the PC-3113 backhoe group 12 substantially vertical when the backhoe is in the vertical mode.

If the backhoe group 12 is relatively lightweight, the desired rotation and positioning may be accomplished by hand. Larger units may be remotely rotated to any position by appropriate power operated means (fluid driven cylinders, electric motors, etc.).

Intermediate positions other than 90° may be utilized if conditions dictate.

Similarly if desired, the backhoe group 12 could be mounted upside-down on the turntable group 24. This orientation would allow the toothed portion of the scoop 14 to be facing upwardly. With the freedom of rotation permitted by the turntable group 24 about the horizontal axis 64, the scoop 14 could easily swing through an upward facing arc. Indeed by employing suitable 15 stops, the turntable group 24 may permit full 360° rotating movement about the horizontal axis 64.

S, The instant invention easily permits the safe and frequent clean out of a conveyor assembly without the need to shut it down.

,The backhoe is oriented approximately perpendicular to the conveyor 20 and the backhoe group 12 rotated to the horizontal position. The b a* operator commences to clean out the space beneath the conveyor by operating the scoop 14 and removing the fallen material. After the w cleaning process has been terminated, the backhoe group 12 is righted 8:*699 G• and may either return the scooped material to the conveyor or load it somewhere else.

S While in accordance with the provisions of the statute, there is illustrated and described herein specific embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art will understand that changes may be made in the form of the invention covered by the claims and that certain features of the invention may sometimes be used to advantage without a corresponding use of the other features.

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Claims

1. An improved backhoe including a support chassis having a defined horizontal axis, backhoe group, fluid operated means associated with the backhoe group for locomoting and operating the backhoe group, means for rotating the backhoe group affixed to the chassis and connected to the backhoe group, the means for rotating the backhoe group adapted for rotating the backhoe group though an arc about the horizontal axis for operating the backhoe group in a substantially horizontal manner, the means for rotating the backhoe group comprising a turntable group, the turntable group including a pivot cap, a trunnion mounted to the chassis, the pivot cap rotatably mounted about the trunnion with a pivot flange, the backhoe group connected to the turntable group and the fluid operated means being Sindependent of the turntable group. *e e

2. The improved backhoe according to claim 1 wherein the cap includes a pair of opposed brackets, having bores therethrough, a se .socket attached to the backhoe group and inserted between the brackets, ai.d a rod extending through the bores and the socket to secure the backhoe group to the cap. o3. The improved backhoe according to claim 1 including means for securing the backhoe group in any selected position within the arc.

4. The improved backhoe according to claim 1 wherein the chassis is mobile. *oo* S* 5. The improved backhoe according to claim 1 wherein a bucket is affixed to the chassis.

6. A method for removing material from underneath a structure supported on a surface using a backhoe unit defined in claim 1 having a defined horizontal axis and a backhoe group, the method comprising: T i 'y -e 1 f__ I 7 backhoe sc backhoe sc position t backhoe sc a) positioning a backhoe unit adjacent to the structure; b) orienting the backhoe scoop so as to be substantially parallel with the surface; and c) maneuvering the backhoe scoop underneath the structure and moving the material with the backhoe scoop.

7. The method according to claim 6 including rotating the :oop about the horizontal axis through an arc.

8. The method according to claim 6 including rotating the :oop about the horizontal axis from a substantially vertical :o a substantially horizontal position.

9. The method according to claim 6 including rotating the .oop about the horizontal axis to a predetermined position. U. U S e g C. SO S. S. *0 0 0 So S An improved backhoe substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

11. A method for removing material underneath a structure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this TENTH day of JANUARY 1991 Inco Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON