US1680555A - Excavator - Google Patents

Description

R. LAIR EXCAVATOR Filed Ju j 5, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet l 'l lllllllllll wuzukov Rah-H: L air ,2 i t v 7, Gummy 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 R. LAIR ExcAVAToR Filed June 15. 1926 Aug. 14, 1928.

anoevdio'b I standing that it may be working upon'a hill.- side or upon a surface which is not level.

i-4ofFig.2; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail of a part. of

Patented Aug. 14, 1928.

PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT LAIR, or KINGSTON, WASHINGTON.

; ExcAvA'roa Application filed me 15, 1926. Serial No. 116,178.

\ This invention relates to excavating or grading mechanism and seeks primarily to provide a machine which may be readily manipulated to cause an excavating scoop to travel over-a surface which is to be reduced and then caused to carry the, load to a. place of deposit so that a fill may be made. Another object of the invention is to provide means' whereby the machine may be maintained in a level condition not-with- The invention also seeks to provide. novel means for manipulatingthe scoop and also novel means. for effecting travel of the machine from thecnt to the fill and vice versa. The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will. be hereinafter fully set forth. r

'In the drawings:

5 Figure lis a plan view of a machine embodying my present invention;

Fig. 2 1s a side "elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is aft ransverse section on the line 3 -3 of Fig. 2;

4 is a transverse section on the line the steering mechanism;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged-sectional elevation of another portionlof the steering mechanism. i

.In carrying out the invention, there 18 provided a main frame 1 which may be formed of channelbars to provide sills and cross beams in such number and arrangement as will attainthe necessary strength and rigidity. and provide supports for the parts of the workingmechanism. At or near the opposite ends of the frame 1 are secured the upright. frames 2 which will generally be of arched construction, as shown most clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. ,Upon the sides of the vertical end frames. 2 are mounted spindles 3 which .carry ground. wheels 4 attheir lower ends softhatthe ma i chine will be supported upon the ground and may readily. travel. thereover. The

1 spindles 3 are vertically slidable inguides,

indicated. at 5, u on the'outer sides of the a 1 respective end rames, and this slidable i mounting of-the spindles permits the wheels to assume any desired position vertically with respect to the main frame so thatthe frame will be supported at any "desired height above thefsurfaceof the ground, and

also permits the wheels toassume different passes downwardlyfrom the drumto and under a guide pulley 9 secured upon the main frame adjacent the front end thereof, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, and then upwardly, the end ofthe cable being secured to the respectively adjacent spindle 3, as.

also shown'in Fig. 2. At the outer end of each drum 7 is a ratchet disk 10, and a pawl 11 pivoted upon the frame Q'iri any convenient or preferred manner cooperates with thisratchet to preventreverse rotation of the drum so thatafter thecable hasfbeen wound to bring the fram'einto the desired position the withdrawal ofthe moving'force will not resultin a dropping of the frame but the frame will remain supported in. the position in which it has been set. A clutchl2 whichmaybe of. any well-known type and is illustrated conventionally is ar ranged to cooperate with each drum so that, when the cable is to be wound, the drum may be locked/to the shaft 6 and, conse quently, rotate withlthe shaft. If it be desired to lower the; frame, all that needs to be done is to release the dog or pawl 11, whereupon the weight of the framewill cause the cable to unwind and permit descent of the frame. It will beunderstood that, if the surface of the ground be uneven, the wheel etat oneside of thefmachine maybe per mitted to assume a lower position relative to the frame than the wheel at theopposite sideso that the wheels willbe accommodated to the inclination ofthe ground. The shaft 6 is rotated by the power of a motor, indicated conventionally a e, and to effect the rotation of the shaft Ga sprocket is secured thereon, as indicated at '14, and :a chain 15 is trained around the said sprocket and around a sprocket16 secured upon a shaft uponthe main frame which..will be .presentlymore. particularly mentioned. Of course, when the fron-t end of the ma-. chine is adjusted to alevel position in the mannerdescribe d, it will be necessary to adjust the rear end of. the frame likewise in order to overcome torsional strain and prevent twisting of the frame and this level? ing or adjustment of the'rear end of the frame is accomplished automatically. The spindles 3 at the rearen'djof thema'ohine are similar to the spindles 3 at the front end thereof and are mounted in guides 5 in the same manner. The upper extremities of the rear spindles, however, are equipped with pins or studs 18 which are disposed vertically axially of the respective spindles and are fitted loosely through collars 19, the extremities of the pins or pintles being upset, as indicated at 20, whereby endwise movement of the spindles relative to the collars will be prevented but the spindles may move pivotally in the collars. Each col lar 19 is provided with trunnions 21 at diametrically opposite pointsof its outer circumference and upon these trunnions is pivotally engaged a fork or yoke 22 at the lower end of a link 23, the upper end of each link being pivoted to the end of a walking beam 24 which is fulcrumcd midway its ends in or upon a pedestal 25 erected upon the adjacent end frame 2 at the top thereof, as will be understood.

The lower portion of each spindle 3 is circular in cross section, as shown most' clearly in Fig. 6, so that it may not only slidevertically through the corresponding guide 5 but may also turn therein while the upper portion of the spindle isfflat-sided in cross section to engage flat sided bore in the collar 26 which is fitted through the upper guide 5 and is provided with flanges 27 to engage the upper and lower sides of the said guide whereby the collar will be prevented from moving vertically through the guide but may rotate therein. Of course, the rotation of the collar will be imparted vertically to the spindle and the spindles may be thus turned so as to set the ground wheels in any desired angular position to effect steering of themaehine. Extending rachally from the upper side of each collar 26 is a crank 27., "the cranks at either end of the machine being' connected for synchronous movement bya connecting rod 28. One of the cranks is extended beyond the end of the connecting rod 28 and a link 29 is pivoted thereto. The link 29 is disposed transversely of'the main frame parallel with theconnecti'ng rod QSand the end of the link remote from the "crank is pivoted to the inner end of a threaded rod or worm 30. This threaded rod or worm is supported in a suitable bracket 31*secu'red to the sideof the adjacent end frame 2, and supported in the said bracket and in a standard 32 rising from the main frame is a shaft 33which is equipped with a hand'wheel "34 at its free end. At the opposite end ofeach shaft33 is secured a beveled pinion 35 meshing with a similar pinion 36. arranged upon the threaded rod or worm between the pinion and the adjacent side of the bracket 31, as clearly shown in Fig. '5. The pinion 36 meshes with the pinion 35 so as to be rotated by the latter and, in turn, has an internally threaded bore or hub which engages the threaded rod 30 in such manner that, when the pinion is rotated, the rod will be caused to move axially or endwise and this movement will be transmitted through the link 29 so that the spindles will be turned and the wheels 4 set in the desired position. By this simple arrangement, I am enabled to steer the machine from either end and may efi'ect the steering operations at both ends simultaneously so that, notwithstanding the length of the machine, a short turn may be made under some circumstances. It will also be understood that the steering operation is not affected by the vertical adjustment of the main frame.

While I have illustrated the machine as equipped with an excavatin scoop or scraper 37, it is to be understood that it may be equipped with a plow or a scarilier or any other implement which will most advantageously break up and aid inremoving the groun surface under any given conditions. The scoop 37 is shown as being pivotally supported, as at 38, between the sides of the main frame at the front end of the same so that it may be se't'at any desired inclination to take up a load or dischargea load and may be easily tilted into a horizontal position so as to transport a load. To effect adjustment of the scoop, a cable 39 is socured to the rear end of the scoop and 0X- tends upwardly to a drum 40, which is loosely mounted upon the shaft 1'5 and is adapted to be connected to said shaft by a clutch 41 of any approved type. the drum being pro vided with a ratchet 42 to be engaged by a dog 43 whereby it may be held in a set position. When the scoop is to take up a load, the cable 39 is'wound upon the drum by locking the drum to the shaft, whereupon the rear end of the scoop will be lifted and the forward end, of course, "tilted downward so that the edge "of the scoop will dig into the ground surface. When the scoop is filled, release of the pawl 43 will permit the rear cndof the scoop to swing downwardly under its own weight and the weight ofthe load, and this downward movement may be arrested at any time by throwing the pawl into engagement with the ratchet. After the filled scoop has been brought into a level position or into such a position that will support the load, the machine is propelled to the fill and the scoop then tilted in the reverse direction to dump the load by e'lfecting rotation of the drum in the described manner. y i

If the frame of the machine is lev'ehthe scoop may be brought to a level Then, bypermitting the front end of the ositiom machine to be lowered, the scoop will be inclined and assume a position in which it will take'up a load, so that by merely raising or lowering the front end of the machine the desired operation of the scoop will be effected.

To effect travel of the machine, I provide cables 44 and 45 which extend longitudinally of the machine and are to be anchored at points remote from the machine in any well known manner. From their anchors these cables extend between a plural ity of guide pulleys 46 disposed at the ends of the frame and are wound upon drums 47 and 48 respectively. The drum 47 is mounted loosely upon the shaft 17 which has been heretofore mentioned and is adapted to be locked to said shaft by a clutch, indicated at 49, and which may be of any well known or preferred type. The drum 48 is carried loosely upon a shaft 50 which is similar to the shaft 17 and carries a clutch 51 which may also be of any approved form whereby the drum 48 may be locked to the shaft. The clutches 49 and 51 are controlled through hand levers arranged adjacent the hand steering wheels 34, as shown in the drawings. Secured upon the shafts 17 and 50 are gear wheels 52 and 58, respectivelyp which mesh with an idler gear 54 carried by a shaft 55 mounted in suitable bearings upon the frame and disposed between the drums 47 and 48. The shaft 55 carries a gear 56 at one end, and this gear 56 meshes with a pinion 57 upon the end of the engine crank shaft 58which is driven by the engine 13 and is equipped with a fly wheel 59. It will be understood that the gear 57 is rotated as long as the motor 13 is running and this motor may be of any convenient type. The rotation of'the gear 37 will be transmitted through the described train of gears to the gears 52 and 53 and, consequently, the drum 47 or 48 may be caused to rotate whenever desired by manipulation of the respective clutches. Likewise the shaft 6 will be continuously driven and either drum 7 or the drum 40 may be operated by properly manipulating the re spective clutches. The guide pulleys 46 at the ends of the machine are shown as carried by bracing arms 60 extending from the end frames. These bracing and supporting arms'may be of any preferred form and any other form of support which will aid in imparting rigidity to the structure of the machine may be employed. To impart travel to the machine, the drum 47 or the drum 48 is locked to its respective actuating shaft accordingly as the machine is to proceed in one or the other direction. shaft and the drum 48 free, the cable 44 will be caused to wind while the cable 45 \Vith the drum 47 locked to its As the cable 44 winds upon the 2 and when traveling in this direction the V scoop, if tilted, will obviously be caused to cut off the surface soil and take up the same. If the place of fill is forward with respect to the machine, the scoop may be adjusted to a level or load-carrying position and the travel of the machine continue without interruption, the scoop being dumped at the fill in the manner previously described. To return the machine to the place of cut or to carry the scoop rearwardly from the cut to a fill located rearwardly with respect to the machine, the drum47 is released from its respective shaft and the drum 48 locked to its shaft, whereupon the cable 45 will be caused to wind and the cable 48 will, of

course, unwind, the result being that the excavated easily moved to a desired fill and ous manner.

Having thus described the invention, I clalm: V g V 7 An excavating machlne comprislng a wheel-supported frame, means on the frame for effecting travel of the same, a scoop pivotally mounted between its ends adjacent its bottom upon the frame at one end thereof, a' shaft mounted on the frame over the scoop, power means on the frame to rotate the shaft, a drum loose on the said shaft, means for locking the drum to the shaft, means to prevent reverse movement of the drum when unlocked from the shaft, and a cable secured to the drum and attached to the rear end of the scoop and arranged to unwind from the drumwhen the drum is unlocked from the shaft.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

ROBERT LAIR. [1,. s.]

Images