US1537091A - Road grader - Google Patents

Description

May 12, 1925.

J. SNYDER ET AL apm GRADER Filed b 12, 1924 s Shets-Sheat 1 J. SNYDER ET AL ROAD GRAD!!! F1156 lay 12, 1924 May 12, 1925.

5 Sheets-Shani 5 idenm: E

May 12, 1925. 1,537,091

J. SNYDER ET AL 7' Jrwenm' I Patented May 12, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,537,091 PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN SNYDER, LE ROY CRAIG, LEE A. SULLIVAN, AND WILLIAIVI E. SULLIVAN, F

JACKSONVILLE,

ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO success ROAD MACHINE coivrraNY, or

JACKSONVILLE, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ROAD GRADER.

Application filed May 12, 1924'. Serial No. 712,665.

To all whom it 'inag concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN SNYDER, Ln tor CRAIG, Linn A. SULLIVAN, and WILLIAM E. SULLIVAN, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of Jacksonville, county of Morgan, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Road Graders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to road grading devices of the vehicular type having adjustable scraper means for digging into and t'ansferring the earth transversely as the vehicle advances along the roadway. Heretofore devices of this general character have been equipped with diagonally set scraping blades and control means therefor, usually one blade for each machine, adapted fora limited range of adjustment, and adapted for grading only one side at a time. Such devices, to a limited degree, are effective and useful for ordinary grading purposes, by moving several times successively along the roadway firston one side and then-on the other, whereby the desired contour of the road is gradually established, but by reason of excessive side draft, and in view of the improvements hereinafter described, these prior devices are weak and inefiicienu especially where the best automotive devices are available to furnish heavy tractive power.

. be main objects of this invention are to provide road graders of improved form and greater capacity for work; to minimize or eliminate side draft; to enhance symmetry and balance in form and operation; to provide additional blades and appropriate adjusting and control means of improved form adapted for rendering the device as a whole capable of producing the desired g ado and transverse contour by a single passage of the machine along the roadway; to provide a plurality of successively acting blades on the same-machine, arranged one behind another,and at appreciably different angles to the longitudinal axis of the ma-.

chine for better treatment of spots of uneven hardness in the road bedg'to provide such a machine of substantially sy1nmetrical character relative to the equipment on opposite sides, whereby both sides of the road may be graded alike or as may be de sired at the same time; to provide automatic equalizing means for distributing the tractive pull directly to the blades and to the frame; and to provide a medial follower blade or leveler adapted to finish the middle of the road by leveling off the centrally deposited spoil from the trailing inward discharge ends of the'side blades or scrapers;

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown by the acoompanyingm drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan of the grader with the side members partly folded.

Fig. 2 is a left side elevation of the grader adjusted as in Fig. 1 and with the blades all lowered. i

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation, somewhat en larged, with the leveler bar raised somewhat. i

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View taken substantially at the transverse line 4-4: on Fig. 1, but with the left side scraper swung to aright angle from the frame;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section at the line 5-5 on Fig. 4;, but on a larger scale.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of the tractive pull distributing means as viewed along the longitudinal middle axis, line 66 on Fig. 7. I V

Fig. 7 is a plan of the front part of. the running gear and shows also the forked pull distributing and equalizing tractor chain.

F ig. 8 is a vertical section through the left front blade and blade holder at line 8 8 on Fig. 1. v

Fig. 9 is a similar section through the front blade and blade holder at 9 9 on Fig. 1.

Fig. 10 is a section on the line 10-l0 of Fig. 5 and shows the plan of the pivot mounting on the inner end of the side scraper.

Fig. 11 is a section at line 11 on Fig. 5. Y "Fig. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the rear frame connection.

In the construction shown'by said drawings the grader comprises'mainly a vehicular frame 1, a plurality of tread wheels 2,

an adjustable compound scraper unit 3 on 7 equalizing member 6 in the form of a forked chain as will be more fully explained.

Each of the two side scraper units 3 is of a duplex compound nature and comprises mainly a front blade 7, a rear blade 8 and means to support and connect said blades; said means including a pivot post 9 mounted uprightly on the side of frame 1 to accommodate horizontal swinging of the unit, a pair of horizontally spaced bars 10 and 11 to which said blades are directly connected respectively, a plurality of rigid spacer frames 12, 13 and 1d distributed along the length of and holding said bars in approximately fixed relation to each other, and vertically oscillatable means for holding and adjusting the elevation of the outer end of the scraper unit relative to the inner end as will be described. The rear blade 8 is oil'- set inwardly relative to the front blade 7, and diverges therefrom inwardly. See Fig. 1.

in order that the said scraper unit may swing pivotally in a vertical plane on a transverse horizontal axis, at or below the Side of frame 1, sutficiently to accommodate adjustment for various crowning angles for the scraper unit. a pivot pin 15 is set in the downwardly projecting lower end of the rotatably mounted post 9; and a bracket 16 fixed on the back side of bar 10 near its inner end (see Fig. 10) contributes with said bar to furnish a secure bearing for the ends of said pin.

The scraper tilting means above referred to comprises n'iainly a leverage member 17 and a pull and thrust member 18 as shown in Fig. 4. The lever 17 is secured by a horizontal pivot 19 to the cap 20 iii-Zed on the top of post 9. The long arm of said lever is pivoted at 21 to the upper and inner end of link 18. The short. other arm of said lever is in the form of a gear segment 22 which meshes with the actuating worm gear 23, the latter being journaled horizontally at 21 anl 25 on the upper end of cap 20. The extension shaft 26 of gear 93 is provided with a hand wheel 2? whereby the operator may control the elevation of the outer end of the corresponding side scraper unit, by raising and lowering said end substantiallv independently of the inner end.

In order that the operator may also vary and adjust the elevation of the unit as a whole, and especially the inner end of said unit, the pivot post 9 is vertically slidable in the bearing frame 28 fixed to the side sill 2.) of frame 1, and a hand wheel 30 is operatively connected through intermediate gearing to said post as will now be described. Each post is journaled to frame 28 as a 28 and 28".

Fixed on post 9 is a cylindrical sleeve 31 having end shoulders 32 between which is held a ring 33 having an outstanding lug 345 to which is pivoted one end of a link Said sleeve is secured to post 9 by a pin or rivet The hand wheel 30 is fixed to the outer end of a horizontal shaft 37 which is journalcd on the frame 28. A worm gear 38 is iixed on the inner part of said shaft and coacts with a segmental gear 39 forming the short arm of a lever which is pivoted at 31 to frame 28. The long arm of said lever extends nearly horizontally and is pivotally connected at 10 to the opposite end of said link. As will be apparent, rotation of hand wheel 30 in one direction will tilt the long arm of said lever upwardly to raise post 9, and vice versa, whereby the inner end of the scraper unit 3 may be elevated or depressed forcibly. If wheel 30 only is turned the elevation of the unit as a whole is varied, as the outer end control gearing is also carried by post 9, but conditions usually require independent setting of the outer end by wheel 27, as will be apparent. See Fig.

it is usually desirable to provide for rounding the crown of the road somewhat. Hence, the blades 7 and 8 are pitched downwardly away from frame 1 more or less according to the surface form desired, the forward and more outward blade .7 being inclined more than the following inner blade 8. As thus set the sides of the road are caused to be rounded, and the trailing center member 41-, disposed about horizontally, assures a practically flat center or middle zone for the road. Moreover. the rear blade 0 a whole is set somewhat lower than the forward blade, especially at the inner end, so as to function ell'ectuallv as a scraper.

In order that the inwardly projecting trailing end of the rear blade 8 may give somewhat so as to slide over non-yielding obstacles, the inner fran'ie 12 is provided with an upwardly yielzjlmg resilient con tion for bar 11. see Fig.1. 5". For this purpose a vertical pin ll is mounted slidably in a loop 42 on the rear part of frame 12. Said pin at its lower end is fixed to bar 11 as shown at 41. and at its upper end is adjustable, being threaded and provided with a stop nut 13 to limit downward movement of said pin relative to frame A helical spring 14.- disposed in connin'cssion on said pin between bracket 1 and bar 11 forces the latter down yieldinglv as said nut will permit, or limited by the hardness of the road bed.

In order LO impart a desirable roll t1 the earth as it is being carried inwardly b" the blades, the latter are preferablv warped somewhat in a spiral or twisted shap whereby the forward outer end is set substantially as in Fig. 8 for digging. and the rearward inner end is set more nearly square or upright, as in Fig. 9. so as to have less tendency to dig. Each blade T is provided with a centrally alined series of holes 45 to receive bolts 46. The proper warped settingof the blades is assured by. appropriate positioning of another series of holes 10 in the bars 10 and 11 wherein said bolts are inserted tofasten the blades in place. These holes 10 areat or near the center at the outer endof the bar, but below the center at the other end, namely the inner or digging end. Each blade is ciamped tightly in place on the concave side of the bar so as to bear against the flanges 47. Both edges of each blade are sharp and the said construction accommodates reversal of the position of a plate so as to dig with either edge.

The brace bar 48 is pivoted at its lower forward end to the upper end of bar 49 and its opposite end is connected to the upper end of the relatively tall rear bar 50, preferably by a breakable connection. as at 51, adapted to release when the blade 8 catches on any non-yielding obstruction.

The blades 7 and 8 are set as close together as practical operation will permit, but by securing the bars 10 andll' at a slight angle relative to each other, in their nearly horizontal plane, and having the rear bar 11 diverge from the forward bar 10 toward the center ofthe grader thematerial dug up is aflorded the necessary space as is accumulates and is rolled or slid over toward the center. Moreover, the inner end part 8 of the rear blade carries the greater part of the load which normally increases toward the discharge end, and the greater pitch relative to the direction of grader movement is desirable for assuring steady and non-clogging delivery.

The normal setting of the rear blade 11 is preferably somewhat lower than the front blade 10, as shown in Fig. 5, so that both blades may share in the digging function.

The angular position of each of the scraper means 3, which are-substantially foldable against the frame 1, is readily adjustable manuallyby means of hand wheels 52 connected through drums 53 and flexible connections, as for instance chains 54 running over pulleys 55 and extending to the outer ends of said means 3. each scraper bar 10 is fastened an L-shaped bracket 56 disposed in a horizontal plane with its short arm fastened by bolts 57 or the like and with its long arm 58 extending forwardly to receive the outer end of the chain. Each drum 53 is provided with a. ratchet wheel 53' and a detent 53 to hold the chain wound up. 7

By turning an angular control wheel 52 in one direction the coacting chain is wound up on its drum 53 and the corresponding scraper is swung forwardly and folded inwardly toward or against the side of the as a whole.

in the opposite direction.

On the tip of frame. By reversing the rotation of said wheei the chain is unwound and the scraper is permitted to swmg outwardly as im pelled by contact and friction with the ground when lowered to its operating posit10n and the grader is advanced along the roadway.

above the axle 62 and made rigid therewith.

Fixed rigidly to frame 1 and axle 62 mid- .way between the riser plates 61 is an upright post 63 supporting a hand wheel 64 for controlling the elevation of the leveling scraper 4. Pivotallyconnected to said post 63 is a horizontal frame 65 on which is' mounted a control lever 66 for adjusting the angular position of the leveler 4 relative to the longitudinal axis ofthe machine Saidlever ispiv-oted at 67 to a bracket 68 on the left side of frame 65 and definite setting may be securedby means of the segmental rack 68 and spring operated detent 69 on said handle. A link 70 connects a medial point 011 said lever, as at 71, with an arcuate horizontal leverage or crank arm member 72 rigidly connected to the part 4, so that when said lever is moved in one direction, the centrally pivoted member 4 is swung in a horizontal plane to a position adapted to urge the earth in one direction; and when said-lever is reversed,

the member 4 is swung to throw the earth The member 72 is a bent angle bar and has a series of holes 72 for adjustable connection of bar 70. The frame 65 has a rearwardly projecting central bar 7 3 to which the rigidly connected scraper 4 and semi-oircular segment 72 are pivoted as at 74. v

The leveler elevation control wheel 64 is connected to the leveling member 4 through mechanism which is appropriately geared in a manner closely resembling that which is employed for controlling the elevation of. the side scrapers 3, as above described For this purpose the post 63 has on its upper end a housing bracket 7 5 on which the shaft 76 of the control wheel is journaled. WVithin said bracket and secured to said lated to a segmental gear 78 which is also pivoted or journaled on said housing, as at 79. The segmental member 78 is'substanshaft 76 is aworm wheel 77 coactively relit) tially partof a lever with the gear teeth on the wide short arm and the long arm 8-3 being disposed nearly horizontally in a rearward direction and connected pivotally at 81 to a link 82, the dowirward trailing end of which is pivoted at 83 to the rear end of the horizontal frame bar 73 to which the leveler is pivoted.

In order to facilitate positive setting of the leveler or finishing scraper t for definite crowning effects, its angular position measured vertically relative to the frame 1 is adjustable by means of a lever 85 pivoted at S6 to the rear of frame 1. The short arm 8'? of said lever is connected to a link 88 which in turn is pivoted at 89 to the left side of frame 6'. Said lever 85 is provided with a spring detent ill to coaet with the lined rack 92.

The front edge of frame 65 has rollers 93 arranged to operate on the vertical plates 9st of frame 1 as fram tilts sidewise.

An operating platform 94,-" is provided on frame 1 between the side scraper control wheels 2'7, and 52 in front and the leveler control wheel behind, so that a single operator standing on the platform may readily reach and control the device as a whole, by means of the seven control wheels and the levers 66 and 85.

It is in order to assure ready adjustment and to avoid friction or binding between the frames 1 and that the rollers 93 are journaled on the front corners of the latter, to travel up and down on the rearward face of the plates 9-t respective y, fixed on the back end. of f 'aine L. no loose pivotal connection at of frame bar 73 to post 63 accommodates the necessary play.

The connection for receiving and transmitting the tractive pull at the front end of the tongue 5 includes a releasable pin 96 extending crosswise through the arms of the pulley frame 97 and the draft bar 98, which pin may be of any material having suitable strength and rupturing qualities, as for 'instance, wood.

lVhenever the grader encounters a serious obstacle sufiicient to arrest it, the pin 96 breaks and so saves injury to the machine.

The bar 98 having a ring 99 at its front end for connection to a tractor, not shown, tits slidably in the fixed guide 100 on the end of tongue and is adapted to pull out freely whenever pin 96 becomes ruptured. The chain 6 passes over the pulley 101 journaled in said frame 97.

This machine finishing and maintaining the dirt shoulders flanking concrete roaos. lVliere the road slab is of ordinary or usual width the machine may be run along the center, with the blades disposed in effective earth (see left hand side of grader in Fig. 1) trimming position on both sides. Or if the slab is too peculiarly adapted for i e for this, then one side or shoulder may be t nzned at a tii'ne. llut in either case all rear wheels may be run on the concrete during the operation. The blades reach out over the shoulder and work its surface into the desired shape, smoothing it up, cutting off all bumps, filling all depressions and especially filling the rut which is usually found after wet weather right at the edge of the COHCYQQG where the soft mud is washed out by the water and often dug out by vehicle wheels in case they run olf the edge of the slab. il ith the wheels all running on the slab, the power consumption is a minimum.

Another way, adapted to leave the slab very clean to run the tractor adjacent to the side to be treated. Both front wheels of the grader being near the center line of the device will follow the tractor, but one of the rear wheels will run back of the blade on the noothly graded dirt formiu the shoulder. The two side blades precede the rear wheel and prepare the surface, and the trailing blace or leveler sweeps any surplus dirt oil from the concrete where it may have been thrown by the front blades.

Another in'iportant feature of this machine is its adaptability to clear the snow elf from roadways and especially concrete roads. ll hen the blades are swung back to a mutually parallel position, perpendicular to the main axis of the machine as a whole and to the direction of movement, the inner ends of the blades just meet and may readily have a joint sweep of eighteen feet or more. But as this would not provide suiiicient inclination to push the snow off, the blades are swung on back until they nearly touch the rear wheels. (See dotted line on left side of grader in Fig. 1.) Then the rear blades overlap somewhat and make a clear sweep of the middle part of the road. As thus set the snow is pushed out-- wardly, as with ordinary snow plows, where as in the forward position they pull the dirt inwardly toward the center. A roadway fourteen feet wide may readily be cleared of snow in one passage with this device. Or my drawing the machine a little to one side of the center, it will clean one side beyond the edge of the slab and then coming back on the other side the rest of the roadway may be cleared, a... will be understood. its there are two blades it does not matter if some snow piles up and falls over the front blade for it will be swept off by the second blade immediately behind. One round, forward and back, will clear an eighteen foot slab very satisfactorily, even af er quite heavy fall of snow.

To summarize briefly as to structure, function and operation, the machine as thus constructed is peculiarly adapted to build and maintain road beds. This is true especially with reference to roads where the traffic tends to wear holes and bumps in the surface. Such holes if filled with dry dirtor ordinary road material require very frequent attention for the reason that the tires of automobiles soon suck the dirt out, and on a busy highway the holes in a few hours after. repaired With natural earth will be as troublesome as before repaired. Furthermore, with the present tendency to oil roads extensively, new difficulties are encountered, such as the ordinary road machines heretofore used, are not adapted to meet.

The machine embodying the present invention, however, overcomes these dit'ficuL ties. The oiled dirt where it has been gradually pushed up in bumps, as often occurs, will be shaved off by .our machine. The blades 7, 8, and 4: as arranged in our device serve to constantly pick up and carry this oiled dirt in front of them, scraping it up and distributing it here and there, and shifting it back and forth, right and left, to produce a smooth even surface. The greater part of this dirt being derived from the uneven places in the oiled road bed, it always has suflicient oil to hold it when repacked and by properly adjusting the blades a sufticient amount of dirt is provided to equalize the elevation of rough places and till all depressions.

The rear blade or leveler 4 is intended and it serves more for distributing the loose dirt and filling up all depressions not properly finished by the side blades 7 and 8, thus leaving the road bed perfectly smooth yet fully repaired with oiled dirt so that the travel will roll it down into a smooth hard surface instead of rerutting the road as would occur if unoiled dirt were taken from the side of the road for filling the depressions. The end rake member 4 projecting as an extension on the trailingend of the finishing blade-support bar, serves to distribute evenly all material delivered from the end of finisher 4. (See Figs. 1 and 3.) Said member 4 is interchc ngeable and may be applied to either end according to the setting of lever 66.

The draw bar construction on the front member of the running gear is such that a sudden stop, resulting from the machine striking a stone, stump or bridge abutment, or any other solid object, would not break the machine, but instead would break the wooden coupling pin 96 shown on the tongue 5 and allow the draw bar 98 to slide out of the socket 100' and so let the machine as a whole stand still while the tractor member or sourceof power (not shown) moves on. By replacing the broken pin 96 with a new one, which can be done in a few moments, the machine as a whole is made ready to proceed again. I v Y Referring to the Y-shaped pull chain, each of the Y arms go substantially direct to the inwardly disposed back end of a side blade,

a small roller 101 in the draw bar extension link or pulley 97 and back along'the top side of the tongue to a bolt 5'. The a coupling member or break pin 96 is set crosswise in the shank of the link pulley 97 on the draw bar, as well shown by the drawings. (Figs. 6 and 7.) This arrangement of draftgear allows the tongue 5 to swing up and down when the machine goes into or across a ditch or up over aridge', the front end of the tongue being attached to an automotive tractor or any other source of adequate power, and allows the chain to adjust itself with the ,movement of the tongue, all of which is quite important to relieve strains in the machine and in the chain:

This Y-chain pull construction also helps prevent side draft. Practically all road machines heretofore have been adversely affected by the side draft or transverse reaction against the road bed and the loose dirt which is dug up, the effect being to push the machine sidewise out of line and make it pull crooked. This machine having two blades on each side, and the inward rear ends of the blades being stationary except for up and down motion, one set of blades can be cutting on one side of the machine well down in the ditch, and the other set any angle for cutting engagement with the road bed to help balance the side pull of the blades in'the ditch or on the slope of the bank. 1 p i All five of the blades, two on each side, and one in the rear, preferably and to advantage, are made double-edged and are interchangeable so that they can be used either end outward, and either edge down. If the cutting edge wears dull the blade may be turned over with the former upper edge down to provide a new cutting edge. L

By using a double blade, that is, two small blades on eachside, instead of one large blade, the leading blade can do half a of thecutting and the other half can be done by the following blade.

amount of dirt is much more easily moved with a rolling motion than a large volume for a given blade. That is to say, the same amount of dirt can be moved in two lots by separate blades as in one lot by a larger.

blade also being, adjustable upand down A small by hand-wheel 27, any position desired may be imparted to the blade relative to eleva-- tion and its vertical angular position.

The back lateral blade 8 is attached by firmly fastening the front or outer end,

the middle being secured with an adjustable elbow arrangement, and the back or inner end being fastened by a spring 44: and adjustable connection. By unscrewing the large nut 43 the blade can be set down to,

cut deeper, and the spring holds it flexibly and still rigidly enough to make it cut. Thus, the front blade 7 may be adjusted to shave oli sod, bumps, and any other uneven surfaces in the road, leaving the rear blade 8 a much smoother surface to work on, as the result of which it acts as a finishing blade, giving a good true surface. This is an important feature of the operation, namely, the shaving off of bumps and the filling up of depressions, both blades sharing in the cuttin and carrying of dirt ant flowing it back and forth. By this means the road bed is smoothed up much better than a single. blade machine can do it, and much more rapidly with the same expenditure of power.

The side blades 7 and 8 are also controlled for the cutting angle by the pull chains 54 coming out of the front end of the frame 1, these chains being operated manually by the corresponding hand wheels 52. By this means the blades may be spread out at a wide angle, whereby the machine may be made to cover a wide surface of ground or road bed. .Vhenever necessary, however, the blades can be pulled in so as to fit a narrow roadway or to cross a cul vert. By raising the blades clear of the ground they can be swung in without winding up the pull chains, simply by graspingthe elevation wheels 27 respectively and applying turning force thereto on vertical axis. This makes it convenient to contract the width of the machine so as to permit driving through a narrow bridge or gate, after which the blades may in similar manner be reversed and swung outward again and lowered for further use.

The rear blade i is controlled by the hand wheel 64 for up and down adjustment. It can be reversed to bring either end in front or to place it in any angle by the side lever 66 provided for that purpose. Another lever 85 provides for raising or lowering either end. By means of the two levers 66 and 85 and the hand wheel 64, this blade can be adjusted in any position and direction.

Another feature of this rear blade is that it cannot give sidewise or crowd away from the work, being held by the frame rigidly in line with the longitudinal axis of the machine. This is an important and desirable feature, for while the blade travels at the rear of the machine it is readily controlled by the several adjustments and is held accurately in position so that it can not get away from the work or be deflected by the bank of dirt being carried in front of it. f

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shown and described, it is to be understood that numerous details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. A road grader having diagonal double scraping means on both sides, said scraping means being formed and arranged for mutual neutralization of side draft when the device is in effective normal operation, and the double means on each side including a pair of blades spaced apart somewhat one behind and efiectually somewhat lower than the other and inclined somewhat relative thereto in substantially a horizontal plane.

2. In a road grader a compound scraper adapted for angular setting relative to the line of travel, said scraper having a plurality of blades set in mutually stepped relation to dig deeper successively in progressive movement of the grader.

3. In a road grader a compound scraper adapted for angular setting relative to the line of travel, said scraper having a pluality of blades set in mutually stepped relation to dig deeper successively in pro gressive movement of the grader, said blades being mutually adjustable for relative effectiveness.

In a road grader a compound scraper including a pair of blades disposed one behind the other, and means to adjustably secure tl e relative position of said blades whereby the effectiveness of one may be varied relative to the other.

A road grader having a compound scraper including a pair of blades one behind the other, and yielding means urging one of said blades downwardly relative to the other.

6. In a device of the character described a pair of blades arranged one behind the other, and means to vary and adjust the vertical angle measuring their relative position, said means comprising a triangular connecting frame set in a vertical plane, the shape of said frame being adjustable.

7. A road grader of vehicular type including pivotally related front and rear running gear members, earth scraping means carried by said rear member and equalizing means to distribute tract-ive pull directly to said front and rear members.

8. A road grader of vehicular type including pi'votally related front and rear running gear members, earth scraping means carried by said rear member and flexible equalizing means to distribute tractive pull directly to said front and rear members, said front member having a tongue with a freely extensible tip to which the pull is applied, and said means beinglooped and slidable in the rearward part of said tip and having its ends secured to said members respectively. r

9. A grader of the character described comprising, in combination a body part having scraper means secured thereto, a sup port connected pivotally to the front end of said body, and a draft member connected to equalize the pull on said body and on said support, the latter having a forward 1y projecting tongue and tractive power receiving means mounted slidably thereon for lengthwise play relative to said tongue, and the body connected end of draft member being attached toapply its pull at a point adjacent to said scraping means.

10. In a grader of the character described a body with downwardly projecting studs spaced apart laterally, scrapers carried by said studs respectively, a front support for said body connected thereto pivotally, a Y-chain having its branch tips secured to said studs and its shank tip secured to said support, the latter having a tongue provided with a longitudinally slidable draft equalizer through which the shank part of said chain extends, and whereby tractive force is applied to said chain.

11. A road grader having a rear end leveling attachment pivotally related there-- to for tilting both on the longitudinal aXis of the grader as a whole and on a transverse aXis through the point of connection.

12. A road grader having a leveling attachment secured to its rear end, said at tachnient including a frame pivotally connected to the main body of said grader for swinging both on its longitudinal and transverse aXes, roller bearings on each side to facilitate lateral tilting of said frame, and means to manually adjust the angular position of said frame in both directions relative to the main body of the grader.

13. In a grader of the character described, vehicle frame having a steering tongue, a pair of upright vertically adjustable side studs on said frame, a pair of side scrapers secured to the lower ends of said studs, a draft bar mounted slidably on the front end of said tongue, a roller mounted on the rear end of said bar, and a 'Y-chain having one end of its shank part attached to said tongue back of said roller, said chain extending thence around said roller and the two arms being disposed rcarwardly and secured to said studs adjacent to said scrapers.

14:. In a grader of the character described,

a vehicle frame having a steering tongue,

a draft bar mounted slidably on the front end of said tongue, a roller mounted on the rear end of said bar, and a Y-bar having one end of its shank cart attached to said tongue back of said ro ler, said chain extending thence around said roller and the two arms being disposed rearwardly, said bar being secured by a breakable pin disposed transversely thereof whereby it may be released whenever the grader encounters resistance too great to be safely overcome.

15. A concrete road shoulder maintaining machine including a vehicular body, a side blade thereon to pull dirt inwardly against the side of the concrete slab and means to sweep off any surplus dirt falling upon said slab. I

16. A device of the character described including a vehicular frame part and a pair of blade members pivoted to opposite sides .thereof and manual means vfor readily setting the angular position of said blades relative to said frame part, whereby the said device is adapted to serve both as a dirt grader to pull earth inwardly and as a snow plow to thrust snow outwardly according to the setting;

Signed at Jacksonville this 21st day of March, 1924. i

JOHN SNYDER.

LE ROY CRAIG. LEE A. SULLIVAN, WILLIAM E. SULLIVAN.

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