US1880807A - Excavator - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 4, 1932. A, c CLARK ET AL 1,880,807

EXCAVATOR Original Filed Sept. 12, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. AB) C. 62 HIE/6 ART/we L. GRAVE ATTORNEY Oct. 4, 1932. A. c. CLARK ET AL EXCAVATOR Original Filed Sept. 12, 1928 Z Sheets-Sheet RK. R H m m Gm a .A ww rr 2R A Patented Oct. 4, 1932 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARY C. GLARK-AND ARTHUR L. GRAVES, OF IMPERIAL, CALIFORNIA; SAID GRAVES ASSIGNOR TO IMPERIAL IRRIGATION DISTRICT, A GOREO RATION 'OF CALIFORNIA EXCAVATOR Original application filed September '12, 1928, 'Serial No. 305,450. Divided and this application .filed November 29, 1929.

Our present invention relatesto excavators, or diggers, for making and maintaining canals or ditches for irrigation purposes.

This application is a'divi'sional application of our copending application for digging bucket construction for excavators, filed September 12th, 1928, Serial No. 305,450.

g The objects of our presentinvention are: first, to provide an excavator or digger of this class having a very flexibly mounted and readily shiftable. excavating portion; second,

to provide a machineof this class which has particularly large capacity and which is very efficient, particularly in that thematerials excavated or dug are easily, rapidly and elliciently dumped or discharged; third, to provide a machine of this class in which the greatest simplicity of construction, strength, and efficiency are incorporated; fourth, to provide a digging bucket conveyer having buckets from which all or the greater portion of the materials excavated or dug are dumped clear of the machine to the-side of the canal or ditchand from which the remaining materials are discharged at substantially the same place when and as the buckets continue over their circuitous path; fifth, to provide supporting means for the digging buckets whereby the buckets are dumped without auxiliary means to aid inthe dumping or discharging of the contents of the buckets; sixth, to provide as a whole a novel mounting of such self-dumping buckets on digging conve-yers; seventh, to provide a novel arrangement of guiding and driving pulleys or sprockets for the bucket conveyer whereby the above functions are efiectively carried out; and, eighth, to provide a machine of this class which is simple and economical of construction pro portionate to its functions, one which 1s easy to operate and one whichvwill not readily deteriorate or get out of order.

With these and other objects 111 view as will 1 1; appearhereinafter, my invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions.

as will be'hereina'fter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claim,

" i reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference Serial No. 410,458. I i

. thereon which form apart of this application guiding wheels and showing one of the buckets in the main discharging position, the section being taken through the longitudinal center of the bucket conveyer; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view thereof taken at 33 of Fig.2 looking into the bucketfrom the front side thereof, and Fig. dis a flag mentary View of the bucket showing its relation to the supporting conveyer, the view being taken at 44 of Fig. 2 looking into the bucket from the inner open side thereof, certain portions being broken away and insection to facilitate the illustration. v

Like characters of reference refer to similar parts and portions throughout the views 'ofthe drawings. 7 g

The main frame, designated 1, of our excavator is mounted at its opposite sides on tractors 2 and 3, the latter being extendable laterally from the main portion of the main frame. Beyond the rear end of the main frame 1 is mounted the excavator or the excavating portion of the machine. The excavating portion of the machine is mounted on a frame 4 which is primarily and loosely and pivotally mounted at one end, preferably at its extreme upper end, on the main frame 1. For so supporting the frame 4, there is provided-an upright support'5 at the-rearjportion of the frame 1 and which is'provided at its upper end with a-backwardly extending extends a cable 9 for supporting and adjust ing the elevation of the frame 4.- The sheave 8 is pivotally mounted on a supporting member 10 which is pivotally connected at its lower end on a transverse axis to the pivotal supporting member 11. This pivotal sup porting member 11 is pivotally. connected by a pivot shaft 12 to pivot'bearings 1a at the upper end of the frame 4, as shown in Fig. 1.

The pivot shaft 12 is preferably extended forwardly to the main frame of the machine and is connected to a guide member 13 which is adapted to ride upwardly and downwardly on the vertical column of the supporting frame 5. The shaft 12 is therefore adapted to prevent the whole of the frame 4 from swaying forwardly and backwardly as a body. The connection-of the shaft 12.to the leg 40 which extends toward the middle portion of the machine, that is, between the tractors 2 and 3. At the outer side of the portion 46 0f the excavating frame are mounted, a

pair of spaced apart conveyer drive sprockets I 15 which may be driven by any suitable means, such as by a power unit 26 mounted on the frame 4. Around these sprockets extend the continuous or endless link belts 16 which also extend around spaced apart flanged wheels 17 at the inner side of the frame 4, around other spaced apartflanged wheels 18 at the lower endof the angular leg of the frame 4, and then around a portion of the inner side of a dumping wheel which consists of a pair of flanged wheel members 19 spaced axially from each other and mounted on a unitary shaft. Said dumping wheel is positioned intermediate the drive sprockets 15 and the flanged wheels 18 and adjacent the former. These flanged members 19;are preferably of larger diameter than the other I flanged wheels. The portions of thelink belts 16 extending from the dumping members 19 to the sprockets 15 are preferably inclined downwardly and outwardly so that the buckets 20 carried by the link belts are correspondingly tilted as the same pass over the dumpingwheel and along the inclined portions of the belt. It will be here noted that the extreme tilting of the buckets takes place while the buckets are substantially supported by the wheel members 19.

The buckets 20 are preferably of thin shells having lateralside walls 20a, a bottom wall 20?) inclined backwardly and inwardly, and a back wall 200. Both the front side and the inner side, that is, the side opposite the bottom wall 20?), are open, as shown best in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The front edges of .the bottom wall and the side walls arereenforce d and turned outwardly to facilitate the digging operation. 4 Y i These buckets are positioned in relatively close relation to each other andsupported on and between the pair of spaced apart continuous conveyer belts 16 which are in the form of link belts and which ride, except for the drive sprockets 15, upon the several pairs of wheels 17,18 and 19, which are flanged wheels, asshown bestin Figs. 2, 3 'and4. The link belts, in this instance, are made up of U-shaped links 16a, the ends of the legs of one link extendingto the opposite sides of the connecting portion of" the legs of the next link and are pivotally connected in such relation by belts or rivets. Some of the links are provided at the inner sides of the. ends of their legs with inwardly'extendin'g bosses 16?) upon which the forward and inner portions of the buckets are pivotally .mounted. For pivotally connecting and mounting the buck? ets V on the. link belts, we have provided brackets 21 which are secured to the outer sides of the side walls20c and near their inner edges, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

The forward ends of these brackets are provided with bosses 21a which extend around the bosses 16b of the links. The bosses 21a are retained in pivotal relation on the bosses 1612 by the bolts 22 which also serve as the pivotal connection of the links provided withthe boss 16?) and the links positioned .betweenthe legs of the former. The brackets buckets and are providedwith longitudinal 21 extend beyond the rear portions of the slots 21?), the slots being substantially parallel to the upper orjinner edges of the corresponding buckets. ,The opposite sides of the slots 21b, that is, the walls forming the opposite sides of such'slots', are straight and flat while. the ends of the slots are beveled inwardly from theopposite side of the slotted portion, as indicatedby -2l0in Figs. 2 and 4. I The link belts 16 are, provided with being positioned several links back of those having the bosses 16b. The bosses 160 are constructed similar to the bosses 166' and have the same relation to the links of the link belt conveyer. The bosses 16c extendthrough the slots 21?) and are adapted to slide therein, said bosses being. retained in position with respect to the brackets 21 by bolts 24which extend through the bosses 160 and also serve ios other links having bosses 160, the latter links as the pivotal connection of the links provided with the bosses 16c and the linksposi .tioned'forwardly.thereof or between the legs ofthe former. Between the heads or nuts of the bolts 24 and the inner sides of the brackets 21, are positioned washers 23 which engage the inner sides of said bracketsadjacent said slots 'l' e I V Thus, if any mud or other materials are caught in the slots 21b, them udjmay. be forced between the ends'of the slots and the bosses 160 and is automatically ejected by the inclined walls at .the'ends of the slots. The purpose of'the slots 21?) is to permit the bucket to be securely supported at all times c upon the link belt as the same ride around the several drive sprockets and supporting wheels without necessitating the use of innumerable links or complicated mechanism for yieldingly supporting the buckets on the link belts as the same pass around their multicurved circuitous paths.

As the buckets pass between the wheel mernbers 19, the same are substantially tilted, as shown, causing all or the greater portion of the contents of the buckets to be discharged to the side of a ditch dug or cleaned. If any materials remain in the bucket, the same are carried around the drive sprockets and dumped through the inner opening of the bucket as the bucket is instantly leveled out after passing the upper portion of the drive sprockets, the discharge of the remaining materials being at substantially the same place as the formerly discharged material.

Though we have shown and described a particular construction, combination and ar rangement of parts and portions, we do not wish to be limited tothis particular 0on struction, combination and arrangement, but desire to include in the scope of our invention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially as set forth in the appended claim.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In an excavator of the class described, an

excavator frani'e a luralit of conve er belt supporting wheels revolubly mounted on said frame, one wheel being mounted at the lower excavating end of the frame, a second wheel being mounted at the upper and opposite end of said frame, and a dumping wheel mounted between the two first mentioned wheels and adjacent the second wheel, a conveyer belt extending around the outer portions of the first wheel and around the inner portion of the dumping wheel, the portion of the belt extending between the second and the dumping wheels extending substantially outwardly, and a plurality of digging buckets mounted in spaced relation on said belt, said buckets being directly pivotally and slidably mounted on said belt and adapted to discharge the contents thereof whenpassing over said dumping wheel, said dumping wheel comprising a pair of axially spaced wheel member's mounted on a shaft, said buckets passing between the wheel members and around and over the shaft when passing over the dumping wheel.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands at Los Angeles, California, this 20th day of November, 1929.

ARY C. CLARK. ARTHUR L. GRAVES.

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