RU2747194C1 - Reversible single bucket loader - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: transport.SUBSTANCE: invention provides a single-bucket loader mechanism for transporting material along an overhead trajectory from a loading point to an unloading point. The swing-over single-bucket loader mechanism contains at least one control lever pivotally connected at one end with the chassis frame, and at the other end with the abutting end of the load lever (20), and a bucket (16) pivotally connected with the loading end of the load lever. Rotation of the control arm about its pivot point moves the stop end of the load arm from the end high point when the loading end of the load arm is toward the bottom of its filling path and the end bottom point when the load end of the load arm is toward the top of its trajectory, while ensuring a decrease in the height of the center of gravity of the loader mechanism, while maintaining a sufficient height of the bucket in order not to touch the operator's cab located on the vehicle.EFFECT: stability of the rocker bucket loader, prevention of cargo spillage, and also provides improved visibility for the operator.18 cl, 10 dwg

Description

BACKGROUND TO THE CREATION OF THE INVENTION

Diverter loaders, also known as bucket loaders, transfer loaders or loaders that dump material by dumping a bucket into a rear-facing bin, appeared on the market about 60 years ago. They are used to move or load materials such as earth or gravel from a position in front of the loader to a receptacle located at the back of the loader.

Typically, loaders contain a bucket or bucket located at the end of the boom mounted on the machine. The transported material is loaded into a bucket or bucket located in front of one axis of the machine. Then the boom and, accordingly, the bucket are lifted along a path passing up above the machine and lowered down from the other side, providing material unloading either into a receiver located in front of the second axis of the machine, or to the ground.

The energy required to move the boom is usually provided by hydraulic / electrical actuators or winches and cables.

Despite the fact that rocker loaders have many obvious advantages, they also have a number of serious disadvantages, among which the mechanical problem, caused by the fact that the bucket is located at the end of a long boom, plays a role, and this leads to poor linkage, requiring deep gearing is undesirable for high torque but low breakout speed, which is unacceptable for bucket lift only operations where less force is required but higher speeds. Moreover, the bucket located at the end of the long boom negatively affects the stability of the machine.

Another difficulty inherent in known machines is associated with the view, when the operator has good visibility during one operation, but does not have a view during another operation, which is now easily overcome with the help of modern high-quality technical cameras. Other difficulties encountered include preventing the load from spilling out of the bucket when the bucket angles relative to the horizontal plane gradually change during transport.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a swing loader mechanism that at least partially mitigates the impact of some of the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a swing-over loader mechanism for transporting material by air from a filling position at the loading end of a vehicle to an unloading position at the unloading end of a vehicle, said mechanism comprising:

a chassis frame designed to support the body of a vehicle,

at least one control lever for controlling the movement of at least one load lever, wherein one end of the control lever is pivotally connected to the chassis frame, and the other end of the control lever is pivotally connected to the first / stop end of the load lever,

and a bucket pivotally connected to the loading end of the load arm,

wherein pivoting and / or reverse pivoting of the control arm about its pivot connection with the frame causes the thrust end of the load arm to move away from the end upper point when the bucket / loading end of the load arm is located near the lower point of its path for filling and / or unloading, and the final lower the point where the bucket end of the load arm is near the top of its path, thereby reducing the center of gravity of the loader mechanism while keeping the bucket high enough to clear the operator's cab located on the vehicle for viewing.

In addition, the swing-over loader mechanism comprises at least one curved guide extending at least partially along the length of the chassis frame, and the load arm further includes a roller fixed at a point along the length of the arm, and the load arm roller is configured to be placed in during operation on a curved rail to guide and support when moving the load arm from the filling position to the unloading position.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the swing loader mechanism comprises a cross shaft pivotally mounted in the width direction of the chassis frame and a control lever mounted at each end of the cross shaft. Each control arm is pivotally connected to a load arm.

The single-bucket loader additionally contains two curved guides located on opposite sides of the chassis frame and separated by a distance large enough to be located in the center of the operator's cab.

Moreover, each curved rail located on either side of the chassis frame comprises a loading section of a curved rail extending from the loading end of the chassis frame to the middle of the frame, and an unloading section of a curved rail extending approximately from the middle of the chassis frame to the unloading end of said frame.

The discharge section of the curved rail can be pivotally connected to the loading section of the curved rail.

The profiles of the loading and unloading sections of the curved rail are designed to provide support for the load arm when transporting the bucket along an appropriate path.

The profile of the loading section of the curved rail is generally convex, while the profile of the discharge section of the curved rail is generally concave.

The curved rail loading section may further include a latch located at the lowest end of the section to engage the roller in the fill position of the bucket, thereby allowing downward pressure to be applied to the bucket during filling.

Alternatively, in an improved embodiment of the invention, a curved plate can be attached to the load arm, and a roller can be attached to a bracket rigidly mounted to the chassis frame, with the roller interacting with the curved plate to apply downforce to the bucket during time of its filling.

In addition, the discharge section of the curved rail can be pivotable to allow the bucket to be lowered by the load arm closer to the ground to a position for distributing material over the surface.

The chassis frame includes axles and wheels when mounted on a wheel loader or tracks when mounted on a tracked vehicle.

The bucket is connected to the load arm through a system of pins and links and pivots under load using an energy source.

The movement of the control lever can be activated by hydraulic cylinders, electric actuator, or other appropriate power sources.

In addition, one stroke of the energy source provides movement of the thrust end of the load arm from its final upper position to its final lower position only to move the bucket from the filling position to the upper point of its trajectory, and one return stroke of the energy source provides movement of the thrust end of the cargo arm from its the final bottom position back to its top position to move the bucket from the top of its path to the unloading position or the position of material distribution over the surface, while the forward and reverse motion of the power source is provided by electronically controlled hydraulic means or the like.

Pivoting and reverse pivoting of the cross shaft and therefore of the control levers can be triggered electronically, as can the positioning of the bucket relative to the load arm during its movement from the filling point to the unloading point to prevent material spillage. Alternatively, other appropriate means can be used.

The geometry of the curved track, the position of the roller on the load arm and the effective attachment of the stop end of the load arm in its final lower position provide a lower upper trajectory of the bucket and a lower center of gravity when moving the load from the loading side to the unloading side of the vehicle, and also allow the bucket to be extended the front and rear of the vehicle to provide sufficient clearance for loading and unloading when the stop end of the load arm is in its final upper position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the following, a preferred embodiment of the invention is described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

in FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a single-bucket loader according to the invention;

in FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the invention in the course of filling a bucket;

in FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the invention illustrating the previous position when the bucket is driven from the bucket loading position to its zenith;

in FIG. 4 is a side view of an embodiment of the invention illustrating the load arm and bucket at their peak;

in FIG. 5 is a side view of an embodiment of the invention illustrating the start of the unloading stroke;

in FIG. 6 is a side view of an embodiment of the invention illustrating the moment of unloading;

in FIG. 7 is a side view of an embodiment of the invention illustrating a bucket positioned near ground level on the discharge side;

in FIG. 8 is a top view of an embodiment of the invention;

in FIG. 9 illustrates the detail of the operation of curved elements, rollers, load levers and control levers, when the bucket is sequentially driven from the moment of filling to unloading;

in FIG. 10 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1-10, like parts of the invention are designated with like reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 1-8, the mechanism (10) of a single-bucket loader designed to transport material by air from the filling position of the bucket at one end of the vehicle (Fig. 2) to the unloading position at the other end of the vehicle (Fig. 6 and Fig. 7) contains chassis frame (12) mounted on axles and wheels (14) to support the mechanism. The transverse shaft (29) is pivotally mounted in the width direction across the chassis frame (12) (see Fig. 8). One end of each of the pair of control levers (18) is attached to the corresponding of the opposite ends of the transverse shaft (29). The other end of each control arm (18) is pivotally connected to the abutment end of the weight arm (20) at the axial point (25).

The free ends of the load arms (20) are rigidly connected by means of an element (40) and are pivotally connected to the bucket (16) at the pivot point (27) by means of pins and links, as well as an energy source (details not shown). Thus, the bucket (16) is indirectly connected to the center of mass of the machine (10), which provides a certain degree of elasticity, as proposed in the invention.

A pair of curved rails (35) located on opposite sides of the machine provide support for a roller (32) fixed at a fixed point along the length of each load arm (20) and positioned in said rails (35) during operation.

Each guide (35) contains a loading section (34) attached to the chassis frame (12) at the loading end and extending partially along the length of the said frame, and an unloading section (36) pivotally connected to the loading section (34) at point (44) turning and extending to the unloading end of the chassis frame (12).

As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 7, the profile of the loading section (34) of the curved rail is generally convex, while the discharge section (36) of the curved rail describes a generally concave profile. It should be understood, however, that other profiles can provide a similar result.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 7, in one embodiment of the invention, the loading section (34) of the curved rail further comprises a latch (42) located at its loading end to interact with the roller (32) when the load arm (20) is in the bucket filling position, thus holding the roller on the specified section (34), which allows the operator during filling to exert downward pressure on the bucket (16) without breaking the roller from the loading section (34) of the curved guide.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 10, in an improved embodiment of the invention, a curved plate (51) is attached to the load arm (20), and the roller (52) is attached to a bracket (50) that is rigidly fixed to the chassis frame (12). These elements provide the ability to apply downforce to the bucket during filling.

The pivot point (44) at which the unloading section (36) of the curved rail is connected to its loading section (34) allows the operator to set the height of the unloading end of said section (36) in such a way as to provide an appropriate height when emptying the bucket or even lower the bucket (16) to ground level as shown in FIG. 7 to ensure distribution of the material over the surface during movement.

During operation, as shown in FIG. 2, in the bucket filling position, the pivot point (25) connecting the control arm (18) to the load arm (20) is in its highest end position, ensuring that the load arm (20) is located at a distance above the axis of the loading end, and such the position in which the latch (42) prevents the roller (32) from separating from the section (34) of the curved guide when pressing force is applied to the bucket (16).

The maximum power is consumed when filling the bucket (Fig. 2). After that, the energy requirements are reduced, since the energy is spent only on lifting the bucket (16). The profile of the lifting guide (34) is made to ensure the direction of this excess energy to accelerate the mass of the bucket (16) when it moves to its highest point (Fig. 4).

Referring to FIG. 3, after the bucket is full, the pivot point (25) is pivoted by force about the pivot point (29) from its top end position (FIG. 2) to its bottom end position shown in FIG. four.

Since the load arm (20) is connected to the control arm (18) at the pivot point (25), any gradual decrease in the height of the pivot point (25) moves the roller (32) up the slope of the loading section (34) of the curved rail, moving the load arm ( 20) and the bucket (16) from its loading position, which is shown in FIG. 2 through the position shown in FIG. 3 until the bucket is gradually moved to a substantially vertical position as shown in FIG. 4 as the pivot point (25) moves towards its lowest end position (FIG. 4) as the bucket (16) gradually moves towards its zenith.

Note that the geometry of the curved rails and all links is designed to reduce the height of the upper bucket path (16) with a corresponding lowering of the center of gravity of the loaded bucket, while still providing sufficient clearance between the top of the operator's cab and the bucket assembly.

One stroke of the power source (not shown) will only move the pivot point (25) from its top position, as illustrated in FIG. 2 to its final lower position, as illustrated in FIG. 4, and therefore only move the load arm (20) and the bucket (16) from the bucket filling position, moving it to a more or less vertical position. It is then required to reverse the power source to move the weight arm from the position illustrated in FIG. 4 through the intermediate position illustrated in FIG. 5 until said arm and bucket have reached the unloading position illustrated in FIG. 6, or even the position of the distribution of material over the surface, which is illustrated in FIG. 7.

The pivot point (25), by definition, must come to a full stop when reaching its lowest end position, before it can begin its reverse movement. It should be understood that the loaded bucket and load arm will gain significant momentum when accelerating to their position, which is illustrated in FIG. 4. This inertia of the moving body allows the bucket to easily pass the depression formed at point (44).

As shown in FIG. 9, at points 7A and 7b, the delay time in reversing the fluid flow to the hydraulic cylinder or the like will be calculated to be equal to the time it takes for the load arm to cross the cavity formed between the loading guide (34) and the discharge guide (36).

Rotation and reverse rotation of the control arm (18) around its pivot point (29) is activated by a power source that is electronically triggered or the like, as is the position of the bucket (16) relative to the load arm during its travel from filling to unloading to prevent material spillage. during operation.

Although the drawings show a wheeled vehicle, the loader can also be used on a tracked vehicle.

It should be borne in mind that one of the prerequisites for a conventional single-bucket loader is that the length of the load arm or boom carrying the bucket cannot be less than half the sum of the lengths, consisting of the length of the vehicle plus the distance to the loading end of the transport the means required to fill the bucket; and the distance to the unloading end of the vehicle required to unload the bucket to fill the receiver.

For example, if the total length of the vehicle together with the distances is 5.6 m, then the load arm cannot be shorter than 2.8 m.Moreover, in the case of a wheel loader, the stop end of the load arm must be fixed to the vehicle at a minimum height. to prevent this lever from hitting one axle while filling the bucket or the other axle while distributing material. For example, if the length of the load arm is 2.8 m, then the stop end of the load arm should be at least 2.2 m above the ground so as not to hit the axle, as explained, with the bucket at a height of 5 m (2.2 m + 2.8 m) above the ground along the height of the trajectory of its movement. Add another 0.4m for the loaded bucket's center of gravity, and the loaded bucket's overall center of gravity will be too high 5.4m when in fact the bucket should be only 3.4m above the ground to avoid touch the top of the operator's cab as described in this example.

It follows from this that in order to lower the center of gravity as much as possible without touching the cab, the thrust pin connecting the load arm with the bucket should be located only at a height of 3.4 m so as not to touch the cab, and if you subtract the length of the load lever of 2.8 m, the knuckle at (25) will be 0.6 m above the ground.

In the above described invention, this ideal solution is achieved by installing a pair of control levers (18) at the ends of the transverse shaft (29) separated by a gap wide enough to be centered in the operator's cab. The free ends of the control levers (18) can reciprocate between the top end position and the bottom end position, namely, in this example, this is 2.2 m above the ground as the minimum height so as not to hit the front axle while filling the bucket, and 0.6 m above the ground, as the design height, which allows you to avoid hitting the operator's cab with a bucket, and all this with the lowest center of gravity.

When filling the bucket, the free end of the control arm (18), located at the initial high point, becomes the ideal locking point (25) for the load arm (20). To ensure maximum stability of the vehicle, keep the loaded bucket as low as possible while driving. This is achieved by turning the control levers (18) and, accordingly, the load lever (20) and the bucket (16) to the lowest possible low point where there is still sufficient clearance between the cab and the bucket.

In addition, the profile of the loading section (34) of the curved guide, which supports the loading arm with the help of a roller, allows the bucket to move along the path from its loading position to the top of the bucket location with a clearance to the cab, and similarly, the profile of the unloading section (36) A curved guideway ensures the bucket is transported along a path from the top of the bucket to its unloading position or even to ground level.

Thus, the invention satisfies the requirements for a single-bucket transfer loader, in which the bucket follows a suitable path from the filling position to the top of the bucket, and then from the top of the bucket to the unloading position, and which, if necessary, can additionally distribute the material to ground level.

The invention provides a system in which the abutment end of the load arm (25) is driven from a top end position to load the bucket as shown in FIG. 2, to the final lower position, to move the bucket to the highest point of its location in one full stroke of the actuator, as shown in FIG. 4. Reverse travel of the actuator causes the bucket to move from the top of the bucket to the unload position as shown in FIG. 6, or even to ground level as shown in FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 9, the use of curved elements of a certain profile ensures that the load arm (20) is always supported by two interconnected elements, which allows the bucket to follow a predetermined path. The first element is the load arm locking point (25), which moves gradually from its highest end position to its lowest end position. The second element is a support attached to the load arm. This is achieved by positioning the roller (32) at a point along the length of the load arm (20), which will abut against this point on the loading section (34) of the curved bucket fill guide. As the load arm (20) stop point (25) gradually moves down, the roller will be supported at a point higher and higher on the loading rail (34), allowing the bucket to rise to its next forward position. As this gradual movement continues, the roller (32) also needs support at each increment point in order to describe the desired path. Connecting these reference points into a smooth curve, we obtain the profile of the loading guide (34), which, together with the moving fixation point (25), moves the loading lever (20) in such a way that it sets the required trajectory of the bucket movement from its filling position to the highest point of the bucket location.

To move the bucket (16) from the highest point of its location to the position of emptying the bucket or even lowering to ground level, it is necessary for the power drive to begin to change the direction of movement of the fixing point (25) from its lowest end position to the upper position of this point. As this ramp continues to move the bucket to the empty position, the load arm roller needs to be supported at each ramp point. By connecting these anchor points into a smooth curve, we obtain the profile of the unloading guide (36).

Thus, the invention provides a single bucket loader that is more efficient and economical as a result than a conventional loader.

Claims (23)

1. The mechanism of a single-bucket transfer loader for transporting material along a trajectory passing over the top from the filling position at the loading end of the vehicle to the unloading position at the unloading end of the vehicle, comprising: a chassis frame designed to support the body of a vehicle, at least one control lever for controlling the movement of at least one load lever, wherein one end of the control lever is pivotally connected to the chassis frame, and the other end of the control lever is pivotally connected to the first / stop end of the load lever, and a bucket pivotally connected to the loading end of the load arm, in this case, rotation and / or reverse rotation of the control lever around its articulated connection with the chassis frame causes movement of the stop end of the load arm, and the specified movement is provided in the range from the end upper point of the stop end, in which the bucket and the loading end of the load arm are located near the lower point of the specified paths for filling and / or unloading the bucket, up to the final lower point of the stop end, in which the bucket and the loading end of the load arm are located near the upper point of the specified path, while the specified rocker loader mechanism is configured to reduce the center of gravity of the specified mechanism while maintaining the bucket height which is sufficient not to obstruct the operator's cab located on the vehicle, characterized in that said mechanism also comprises at least one curved guide extending at least partially along the length of the chassis frame and having a profile that provides support for the load arm when the bucket moves along the specified path. 2. The mechanism of claim. 1, in which the load arm comprises a roller fixed at a point located along the length of the arm, and the load arm roller is configured to be placed on a curved guide for guiding and supporting when moving the load arm from the filling position to the unloading position during exploitation. 3. A mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a transverse shaft pivotally mounted in the width direction across the chassis frame, wherein a control lever is installed at each end of the transverse shaft, and each control lever is pivotally connected to a load lever. 4. The mechanism of claim 3, further comprising two curved guides located on opposite sides of the chassis frame. 5. The mechanism of claim. 4, in which each curved rail further comprises two sections: a loading section extending from the loading end of the chassis frame towards the middle of this frame, and an unloading section pivotally connected to the loading section and extending from approximately the middle of the chassis frame towards the discharge end of this frame. 6. The mechanism of claim. 5, wherein the profile of the loading section of the curved rail is generally convex and the profile of the discharge section of the curved rail is generally concave. 7. The mechanism according to claim. 5 or 6, in which the unloading section of the curved guide is rotatable to allow the bucket to be lowered by the load lever closer to the ground, to the position of material distribution over the surface. 8. The mechanism according to any one of paragraphs. 5-7, in which the loading section of the curved rail includes a latch located at the lowest end of the section to engage the roller in the fill position of the bucket, thereby allowing downward pressure to be applied to the bucket during filling. 9. The mechanism according to any one of paragraphs. 5-7, in which a curved plate is attached to the load arm and a roller is attached to a bracket rigidly mounted on the chassis frame to engage the curved plate to allow a downward force to be applied to the bucket during filling. 10. The mechanism according to any one of paragraphs. 5-8, in which the geometry of the curved rail, the position of the roller on the load arm and the point of effective attachment of the thrust end of the load arm in its final lower position provide a reduced overhead bucket path and a lower center of gravity when moving the load from the loading end of the vehicle to the unloading end vehicle, and also ensure that the bucket extends at the loading end to fill the bucket and at the discharge end to provide space for unloading into the receiver or lowering the bucket directly to the ground. 11. The mechanism according to any one of paragraphs. 1-10, in which the rotation and reverse rotation of the control lever is provided by hydraulic cylinders, an electric actuator or other suitable source of energy. 12. The mechanism according to claim 11, in which only one stroke of the power source is required to bring the thrust end of the load arm into translational movement from its upper final position to the lower final position, thereby ensuring translational movement of the bucket from its filling position to the top of its trajectory, and only one return stroke of the power source is necessary to bring the thrust end of the load arm into translational movement from its final lower position back to its upper position, thereby ensuring the translational movement of the bucket from its upper position to the bucket unloading position or material distribution position on the unloading end of the vehicle. 13. The mechanism of claim. 12, in which only one stroke of the power source is required to bring the thrust end of the load arm into translational movement from its upper position to the final lower position, thereby ensuring translational movement of the bucket from its unloading position or material distribution position back to the top of its trajectory, and only one return stroke of the power source is necessary to bring the thrust end of the load arm into translational movement back to its final upper position, thereby ensuring a translational movement of the bucket from its upper position back to the bucket filling position, down to ground level at the loading end of the vehicle. 14. The mechanism according to claim 12 or 13, in which the full cycle from filling the bucket to unloading and back to the position of filling the bucket requires only one stroke of the power source, followed by a reverse stroke, and then again performing one stroke of the power source, followed by a reverse stroke ... 15. The mechanism according to any one of paragraphs. 11-14, in which the starting of the power source is provided by electronically controlled hydraulic means or other suitable means. 16. The mechanism according to any one of paragraphs. 1-15, in which the bucket is connected to the load arm through a system of pins and links and is configured to rotate under load using a power source. 17. The mechanism according to any one of paragraphs. 1-16, in which the position of the bucket relative to the load arm as it moves along the path from filling to unloading is constantly changing to prevent spilling of the contents of the bucket along the path from filling to unloading. 18. The mechanism according to any one of paragraphs. 1-17, in which the chassis frame contains axles and wheels when mounted on a wheel loader, or tracks when mounted on a tracked vehicle.

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