US1839667A - Road grading machine - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 5, 1932, A. w. FRENCH 1,839,667

ROAD GRADING MACHINE Filed May 19, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ITufenG $4 Alfivd Zffiezzci Jan. 5, 1932. A. w. FRENCH ROAD GRADING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 19, 1950 Jan. 5, 1932.

A. W. FRENCH ROAD GRADING MACHINE Fi led May 19, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 red I 9/]7'972 Patented Jan. 5, 1932 PATENT OFFICE -ALFRED W. FRENCH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASS IGNOR TO BLAW-KNOX COMPANY, OF

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ACORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY ROAD GRADING LIACHINE Application filed May 19, 1930. Serial No.453,656.

Thisinvention has for its general object to provide a machine for grading roadways preparatory to installing the side-forms thereof and depositing paving-material such as Portland cement or bituminous concrete upon the area bordered by said side-forms.

More specifically, the main Object of the invention is to provide a grading machine which is adapted to travel over aproposed paved highway area for effecting removalof surplus earth down to what is termed the fine-grade and simultaneously therewith,

' also provide flat plane surfaces'bordering the crowned middle fin'e grade area to receive the side-forms;

Heretofore, in the highway paving art, the practice has been first to run plows and harrows over the roadway to be paved for'the purpose of removing surplus earth to a level of approximately two inches above the ultimate fine-grade; then to level off two narrow strips at the sides of the roadway down to ultimate fine grade; then to set side-forms in said strips and thereafter remove the balance of the surplus earth either by hand or by means of a machine, known as a fine-grading machine, traveling on the sald sideforms; this series of operations has been quite expensive and, in some respects, very unsatisfactory, especially in regions where the earth is rather soft and the weight of the fine-grading machines used has caused the side-forms to sink into the ground. This has necess tated resetting of the side-forms to the proper level and also has caused the fine-gradeto be too low so that filling-in was'required. I

A further objection to the use of the heavy fine-grading machines traveling on the s deforms has been that such machines were re quired to be removed to one side of the area in order to permit material carrying trucks to pass the same.

The only alternative to this removal of the fine-grading machine has been to operate the same after the conclusion of a days work to cut a fine-grade somewhat longer than would be covered by pavement during the next dayls work. In many instances, a d'ays paving covers a strip of road from fifteen hundred to two thousand feet long so that, forthe' advance work of the machine, the contractor was obliged to carry in stock about four thousand or more lineal feet of side-forms.

Atthis date most of the fine-grading of road-ways is efi ected'by'hand labor so that amachine capable of performing the several functions of rough-grading and fine-grading with respect to both the middle or crown portion of the roadway and the level strips to receive the side-forms, and which, additionally, removes the surplus earth to a point beyond one of the side-forms, is obviously very desirable and this invention is directed to provide a machine of this character.

A suitable embodiment of the invention, accompanying drawings,

is illustrated in the wherein Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a roadway gradr ing machine constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 4 isa rear elevation of the same;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view view of an earth cutting The machine comprises asuitable frame work which may be conveniently referred to as the vehicle frame 1 which is suitably built up from conventional structural steel elements such as I beams, channel-bars, angleirons, etc. 7 e

This 'frameis carried by a pair of caterpillar tractor assemblies 2, the wheels of which are suitably geared to the motive means carried bythe frame 1 and, which,

preferably, comprise two independently operable and controllable internal combustion engines 3 and 4, said gearing may include control clutch mechanism if desired, though the advantageincident to the use of two independent engines resides in part in the-elin ination of such clutch mechanism.

At the front of the frame 1 there are provided two swinging frames "5 and 6, each of which includes a hub-member 7 pivotally mounted on a shaft 8 of the frame 1 and a air of parallel arms equipped with two pairs of bearings 10 and 11, respectively, in which the shafts 12 and 13 of the sprocket wheels 14 and 15 are ournallecb 'The said sprocket wheels 14 and 15' are arranged in pairs,'each pair thereof being rigid with one of said shafts 12 and 13. l Suitable sprocket chains 16carrying series of scraper bladesl7 are trained over said sprocket wheels' The.

shafts 12 carry driving sprocket wheels 18 fgeared by means of chains 19 to sprocket "with a square socket 33 to receive the square wheels 20 on the shafts 8 which are suitablyv geared to the respective engines 3 and 4.

k One of the arms of each frame 5 and 6 is suitably equipped with a threaded sleeve 21 in which the't-hreadedlower end of a screw shaft 22 engages, said screw-shaft being suitably journallejd in a; bearing: on the frame 1 and held against longitudinal movement by means of the collars 24. SMClSCIGW 28,1 the outerends of said arms of each set of said shafts 27 being pivotally connected with a bar 29, there being one of said bars for each set of said shafts. Each of said bars is pivotally connected between, its ends with a pit-man- 30 which associates said bar with the crank-pin of adisk 31 mounted upon the upper end of a vertical shaft 32 journalled in a bearing on a frame member. The respective' shafts 32 are-suitably geared to the respective motors 3 and 4.

The lower end of each shaft 27 is equipped end of the shank of an earth cutting blade 34, to which it is secured by means of a set screw 35. The said-earth cutting blades are arranged with their pointed ends forward with respect to'the normal direction of travel of the machine. Suitable means are-provided for adjusting contiguous shoes with respectto relative elevation so that as they rock during forward travel of the machine,

' they will undercut surplus earth disposed in the roadway substantially'in the planeof the V ultimate crown of the fine-grade; In the instance illustrated, this adjustment is effectedfby making thejsquare end, portions of the vshafts27 sufficiently long to permit the several shoes to be disposedat various elevations, the length ofthe hubs of-said blades being such as to permit all shafts 27 to have their lower ends disposed sufliciently high to clear the fine-grade plane.

At the rear end of the vehicle frame is an earth conveyor mechanism which is adapted to move the earth loosened by the cutting blades to one side of the path of travel of the machine and WlllChfllSOfLlIlCtlOIlS to correct inaccuracies in the fine-grade due to the slight differences in elevation of said cutting blades. e V

' This conveyor mechanism comprises three pairs of sprocket wheels 36,37, and 38 rigid with shafts journalled in bearings mounted onthe frame and upon the brackets 39 at one side of the frame 1. The'bearings for the shafts of the sprocket wheels 36 and 37 are-disposed above the ends of a pair of opposed channelbars 40 disposed below and carried by-the vehicle frame 1, said channel bars beingpurv'ed to "coincide with the'crown of the ultimate fine-grade of the roadway.

The sprocket wheels 38 are disposed appreciably outwardly of the path of travel of one of the caterpillar tractor assemblies. 7 Sprocket chains 41, the links of'which carry scraper blades 42 are trained over the sprocket wheels 36, 37, and 38; Said links are pivotally associated with each other by means of shafts 43 which project beyond theouter side faces of said links and are equipped on their projecting .end portions with-rollers 44 of diameter slightly but not appreciably less than the width of the spaces between the flanges of the said channel bars 40, said rollers 44 being disposed in the grooves defined by said flanges and riding upon the latter.

A driving sprocket wheel 45 is rigid with the shaft of the sprocket wheels 38 andis geared by means of they sprocket chain 46 with the sprocket pinion 47 on a shaft 48 suitably geared to one of the engines of the vehicle frame. v

The machine is operated as follows:

.As the survey determining the ultimate desired'fine-grade plane of a proposed paved highway is being effected, stakes are driven into the ground at substantially regular intervals in parallel rows uponopposite sides of and equidistant from the middle of said proposed highway. 7 So-cal1ed chalk-lines are secured to the stakes at a predetermined as. for example, one foot above the same.

,The' fine-grade is then cut one foot lower. than the plane ofthe chalk lines on opposite,

, ,The'vhand-wheel operators maintain the scraper assemblies '17 so as to cut gradesat elevation above thedesired fine-grade plane the sides of the roadway twelve inches (in this exemplary instance) below the level indicated by the said chalk lines and as these grades lie in the path of travel of the caterpillar tractor'assemblies, the scraper assem blies obviously function to determine the plane of operation of the earth conveyor mechanism at the rear end of the machine.

Obviousl if the surplus earth constitutes a deep layer above the ultimate fine-grade, the machine may be passed over the same area several times to gradually cut away and remove this earth.

The speedof travel of the machine will be necessary that one of the caterpillar'tractor.

assemblies be raised sufficiently higher than the other thereof to cause the cutting blades to clear the earth, and for this purpose one of said tractors will preferably be caused to run on suitable raised planking.

The machine is also well adapted to be run upon a carrier truck or trailer under its own power for purposes of removal from one job to another, this being very desirable because of the high cost of otherwise manually hoist ing a very heavy machine upon such a carrier. The accompanying drawings are more or less diagrammatic in character as they lack illustration of numerous essential structural details requisite for strength but these are readily supplied by engineering or mechanical skill and form no part of the invention. 7 I claim as my invention l. A grading machine comprising a vehicle frame equipped at opposite sides with traction means, an engine for each traction means mounted on the vehicle frame, each of said engines operable independently of the other, power actuated mechanisms disposed in front of each of said traction means for cutting a path of travel therefor, and power actuated earth cutting means disposed between said traction means for cutting away surface earth above a predetermined grade.

2. A grading machine comprising a vehicl-e frame equipped at opposite sides with traction means, an engine for each traction means mounted on the vehicle frame, each of said engines operable independently of the other, power actuated mechanisms disposed in front of each of said traction means for cutting a path of travel therefor, and power actuated earth cutting means disposed between said traction means for cutting away surface earth above apredetermlned grade,

the said grade being determined by said mechanisms. I

8.,A grading machine comprising a vehicle frame equipped at opposite sides with traction means, an engine for each traction means mounted on the vehicle frame, each of said engines operable independently of the other, power actuated mechanisms disposed infront of each of said traction means for cutting a path of travel therefor, means for. manually vertically adjusting said mechanisms, and power actuated earth cutting means disposed between said traction means for cutting away surface earth above a predetermined grade.

4. A grading machine comprising a vehicle frame equipped at opposite sides with traction means, an engine for each traction means mountedon the vehicle frame, eachof said engines operable independently of the other, earth cutting means interposed between said traction means and arranged to cut away earth disposed above the level of a plane determined by said traction means, and earth scraping and conveying means disposed rearwardly ,Of1saidearth cuttingmeans for cooperation with the latter to produce a cleared predetermined grade. a 5. A grading machine including a vehicle having independently operable traction means at opposite sides, an engine for each of said'traction means, and earth cutting and conveying mechanisms disposed in front of said respective traction meansand geared to the respective, engines for cutting paths 1 of travel for said traction means.

6. A grading machine including a vehicle having independently operable tract-ion means at opposite sides, an engine foreach- 8% of said traction means, and'manually vertically adjustable earth cutting and conveying mechanisms disposed in front, of said re' spective traction means and geared to the respective engines for cutting paths of travel 15,}

for said traction means.

7. A grading machine including a vehicle having independently operable traction means at opposite sides, an engine for each of said traction means, and earth cuttingand conveying mechanisms disposed in frontof said respective traction means and geared to; the respective engines for cutting paths of travel for said traction means, and means for manually vertically adjusting said respective mechanisms during travel of said vehicle.

8. A grading machineincluding a vehicle having independently operable traction means at opposite sides, an engine for each of said traction means, and earth cutting and, conveying mechanisms disposed in front of said respectivetraction means and geared to the respective engines for cutting paths of travel for said traction means,and means for manually vertically adjusting said respective 153 mechanisms independently of each other during travel of said vehicle.

9. A grading machine including a' vehicle equipped at opposite sides with power actul 'ated traction means operable independently of each other, an earth cutting and conveying mechanism disposed in front of each of said mechanisms for cutting paths of travel therefor constituting grades upon which the sideforms of the area bordered by said paths are adapted to be mounted, and earth cutting and equipped at opposite sides with power actuated traction means operable independently of each other, an earth cutting and conveying mechanism dlsposed in front of'each of said mechanisms for cutting paths of travel therefor constituting grades upon which the side-forms of the area bordered by said paths are adapted to be mounted,

means for manually vertically adjusting said mechanisms during travelof the vehicle, and earth cutting and conveylng mechanism disposed rearwardly of said first-named mechanism for clearing away earth between said 7 paths down to a grade determined by said path cuttingmecha-nisms. T w

11. A grading machine including a vehicle frame provided at opposite sides with independently operable caterpillar tractor mechanisms having their treads disposed in a common plane, motive means for said.

mechanisms mounted on said frame and manually controllable to actuate the said mechanisms at the same or difierent speeds,

earth removing means disposed in front of and rearwardly'of the forwardends of said mechanisms and manually controllable dur-' ing travel of the vehicle for cooperation with said mechanisms to produce a grade of' greater Width than thevehicle frame and in a predetermined plane. 3

A grading machine including a vehicle ffra'me eeuipped .at opposite sides with traction' means having treads arranged in a commonplane, motive means on said frame geared to said traction means, a series of earth cutting members arranged in substantially the plane of the ultimategr'ade and geared to said motive means, earth conveying and grade scraping means arranged behind said cutting means and having a path of travel transverse ly of the ultimategrade, and gearing between said conveying means and said motive means.

13. A grading machine including a vehicle frame equipped at opposite sides with traction means having treads arranged in a common plane, motive means on said frame geared to said traction means, a series of earth cutting members arranged in substantially the plane of the ultimate grade andgeared to said motive means, earth conveying and grade scraping meansarranged behind said cutting means and having apath'of travel transversely of the ultimate grade and of greater length than the zone of action of said cutting means, and gearing between said conveying means and said motive means.

14. A gradingmachine comprising a vehicle frame equipped at opposite sides with traction means, motive means on said frame geared to said traction means, earth scraping and conveying mechanisms arranged in front of and manually operable to be raised and lowered with respect to the plane of the treads ofsaid traction means for cutting paths of travel for the latter and coacting herewith to determine the grade of the area between said traction means, earth cutting mechanism spanning the space between said traction means for cutting the grade determined by the latter and said first-named mechanisms, and earth scraping and conveying mechanism arranged behind said cutting mechanism and having a path of travel of greater length "than the width of grade cut by said cutting mechanism,-and gearing operatively associating said severalmechanisrns with said motive means.

15. A grading machine comprising a mhicle frame equipped at opposite sides with traction means, motive means on said frame geared to said traction means, earth scraping and conveying mechanisms arranged in front of and manually operable to be raised and lowered with respect to the plane of the treads of said traction means for cutting paths of travel for the latter and coasting therewith todetermine the grade of the area between said traction means, swing-frames pivotally secured to said vehicle frame at one each and carrying said mechanisms at their other ends, a series of vertical. rock-shafts journalled in bearings on the vehicle frame between said traction means, an earth cutting blade mounted upon the lower end of each of said vertical shafts, reciprocable means operatively associated with said shafts and said motive means for rocking'said shafts during travel of the vehicle, earth scraping and con veying means arranged for travel transversely of the grade arranged behind saidseries of shafts, and means operatively associating said several mechanisms with said motive means. i

16. A grading machine comprising a toactuate each of the latter independently z of the other, earth cutting means geared tosaid motive means and arranged to cut the grade in thearea spanned by said. frame dur- 1ng travel of the latter, mechanisms geared to -v i l I 1 said motive means and disposed 1n front of lib said traction means for providing paths of stantially the grade cut by said earth cutting travel for the latter, manually operable means for raising and lowering said mechanisms relatively to the plane of the treads of said traction means thereby to determine the plane of travel of the latter and the grade cut by said earth cutting means, and means geared to said motive means for conveying earth cut away by said means to one side of the road during travel of said vehicle.

17. A grading machine comprising a vehicle frame adapted to span an area to be graded and equipped at opposite sides with traction means, motive means on said frame geared to said traction means and operable to actuate each ofthe latterindependently of the other, earth cutting means geared to sad motive means and arranged to cut the grade in the area spanned by said frame during travel of the latter, mechanisms geared to said motive means and disposed in front of said traction means for providing paths of travel for the latter, manually operable means for raising and lowering said mechanisms relatively to the plane of the treads of said traction means thereby to determine the plane of travel of the latter and the grade cut by said earth cutting means, and grade scraping and earth conveying means geared to said motive means and having a lateral path of travel greater than the grade cut by said earth cutting means arranged at the rear end of said vehicle frame for removing earth to one side of the graded area.

18. A grading machine comprising a vehicle frame adapted to span an area to be graded and equipped at opposite sides with caterpillar tractor assemblies, motive means on said frame geared to said assemblies and controllable to operate each thereof independently of the other, earth cutting means geared to said motive means and arranged to cut the grade in the area spanned by said frame during travel of the latter, mechanisms geared to said motive means and disposed in front of said traction means for providing paths of travel for the latter and each comprising a pair of sprocket wheels means.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set and clutch assemblies equipped with outwardly extending blades, frame members carrying said last-named assemblies mounted on the vehicle frame for up and down ad justment relatively thereto, manually operable means associated with said carrier and vehicle frames for raising and lowering said mechanisms for cooperation with said tractor assemblies to determine the grade cut by said cutting means, and a sprocket wheel and chain assembly provided with outwardly extending scraping and conveying blades arranged at the rear end of said vehicle frame and geared to said motive means, said assembly including guide members for causing the outer edges of said blades to travel in sub-

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