US1891266A - Scraper - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 20, 1932. R. 6. LE TOURNEAU SCRAPER Filed March 25. 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l 1 r a W 8 i w .R.

ATTORNEY Dec. 20, 1932. R. (5. LE TOURNEAU SCRAPER Filed March 25, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IFA ll @W MWMN l/ILIII/IlAAFlll/II/IIL INVENTOR R L T 4) wwzwmu ARNEY 3 mm fiw NAM Dec. 20, 1932. R. G. LE TOURNEAU SCRAPER Filed March 25, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR R G.L Tourneau -BY m ATT-ORNEY Patented Dec. 20, 1932 PATENT OFFICE ROBERT G. LE TOURNEAU, F STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA SCRAPER Application filed March 25, 1932. Serial No. 601,145.

This invention relates to scrapers and particularly toone of the same general character as shown in my Patent No. 1,857,157, dated May 10, 1932, and which was filed January 5, 1931 under Serial No. 506,521.

In the previous scraper the bowl was provided with a rear endgate adapted for forward movement so as to push the load from the front end of the bowl to discharge the same. I found however that due to the great resistance offered by the dirt to its being pushed back on to the bowl with the forward movement of the scraper, that the amount I of dirt which could be pushed into the bowl by the direct power of the tractor was considerably less than the actual capacity of the bowl and which the tractor could easily haul once the bowl was loaded. The bowl could of course be thus loaded to capacity with the use of an excessively powerful tractor but this would increase the cost of operations considerably.

The principal object of my present invention therefore is to provide a means to enable the bowl to be loaded to capacity with the use of a tractor of moderate size so that the full capacity of the bowl could be utilized without any excessive power being necessary in accomplishing the desired result. Essentially this means consists of a front endgate positioned clear of the dirt when the bowl is being partially loaded by the advancing movement of the scraper, and connected to the tractor with a power increasing tackle so that the power of the latter could be used to great advantage to push the gate rearwardly. The gate would then engage and force the heaped up pile of dirt which is partly in the bowl and partly on the ground ahead entirely into the bowl. A further rear movement of the endgate then causes the dirt to be discharged from the rear end of the bowl. This is also an advantage over front end dumping in a scraper of this type since it is not necessary to raise the rear end of the bowl any great height in order that the discharging dirt shall be kept clear of the bowl as is required in front end dumping.

These objects I accomplish y means of such 50 structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a scraper in its loading position:

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the same showing the endgate moved to push the dirt into the bowl. 6

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the scraper with the parts as in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a side view of a stepped cable drum for the endgate return cable.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of the drum and the adjacent end of the gate carriage showing the carriage fully advanced.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the frame of the scraper comprises a longitudinal horizontal beam 1 supported at its front end by a steerable pony truck 2, adapted to be directly attached to the hauling tractor. Transverse beams 3 extend over and are secured to the beam 1 at intervals and support the bowl which comprises side plates 4 secured to and depending from the beams 3, and a bottom plate 5 terminating in a downwardly deflected cutting blade 6 disposed some distance rearwardly of the forward edges of the side plates.

The bowl and consequently the frame are supported at the rear end by transversely 85 spaced wheels 7 journaled in arm units 8 swivelly connected for vertical movement to the sides of the bowl at the back. Adjustment of the arms and wheels to alter the level or tilting of the bowl is controlled by a 99 cable actuated mechanism indicated general.- ly at 9. Since this mechanism is essentially the same as shown and described in the aforementioned patent it is not thought necessary to describe the same in detail here as it forms 93 no part of the present inventon.

Extending along and secured against the sides of the beam 1 are rails or tracks 10. Where they are directly over the bottom of the bowl, these rails are substantially paral- 100 lel to said bottom but ahead of the bowl they slope upwardly at a decided angle as at 10a to their forward termination, as shown in Fi s. 1 and 2. Longitudinally spaced sets of roIlers 11 disposed on transverse horizontal axes ride on the rails, these rollers being mounted on and supporting the side bars of a carriage 12, said bars being disposed on opposide sides of the beam 1. The carriage also has other rollers 13 mounted on vertical axes and adapted to engage the sides of the beam 1 to hold the carriage against lateral deflection.

Arms 14 depend from the front end of the carriage and are rigid therewith, said arms supporting a transverse endgate 15 preferably disposed with a forward slope toward the top. The gate, Carriage and rails are so disposed relative to the cutting edge of the bowl that when the carriage is at the front end of the track, with the forward rollers on the inclined portion thereof the lower edge of the gate is well clear of the ground and in front of the bowl, as shown in Fig. 1. When the carriage and gate are moved rearwardly a certain distance the carriage will be lowered as the rollers move down the inclined portion of the track until, as the gate reached the blade 6, the lower edge of said gate is substantially on a level with the bot tom of the bowl, as shown in Fig. 2.

The gate is to be pulled back by the power of the tractor from its foremost position until it is at the rear end of the bowl or in the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. This pull back mechanism is preferably arranged as follows:

Secured to the carriage at its rear end and on opposite sides are tackle blocks 16, while mounted on the beam 1 at its rear end and in transverse alinement with the blocks 16 are similar blocks 17. A cable 18 dead-ended on one side of the carriage extends about and between the pulleys of the blocks 16 and 17 on one side, then across to the other block 17. The cable then extends between and about the pulleys of said other blocl 17 and those of the corresponding block 16, and finally extend forward to a connection with a power drive on the tractor. In this manner the power of the tractor is increased according to the number of pulleys of the blocks and runs of the cable 18 and is utilized to pull the gate back.

I have also provided an automatic return mechanism for the gate to pull the same forward when the pull on the cable 18 is released. This may be done in various ways but I preferably employ the following arrangement.

A cable 19 is attached to the front end of the gate or carriage and extends thence about a drum 20 mounted on the front end of the beam 1. This drum has a helical groove for the reception of the cable, in the outermost end of which groove the cable is anchored. The drum has also a portion 21 of relatively small diameter about which is disposed a helical spring 22. This spring is fastened at one end to the drum and at the other end in connection with the frame, and is disposed so as tobe placed under increasing tension by the rotation of the drum which is had with the unwinding of the cable from the drum as the gate moves rearwardly. Thus when the rear movement ceases and the pull on the cable 18 is released, the spring 22 acts to rotate the drum in the opposite direction and wind the cable thereon.

On account of the roller mounting of the carriage and to the fact that there is no load ahead of the gate, it offers little resistance to such forward movement until the forward rollers of the carriage engage the inclined portion of the track. I have therefore arranged for an increase in the efficiency of the spring 22 from this point forwarded by providing a cable transfer groove 23 leading from the adjacent end of the groove on the drum 20 to the surface of the relatively small drum 21. The length of the cable 19 is such that with the rotation of the drum it reaches the transfer groove and starts wrapping about the small drum when the carriage reaches the incline. Thus with a further rotation of the drum by the spring the full effectiveness of said spring is utilized without the disadvantageous and relatively low leverage had when the cable is wrapping about the large drum 20.

In operation therefore the dirt is forced back into the bowl by the advancing movement of the scraper until such dirt offers excessive resistance to the advance of the tractor or until the dirt has been loaded into the bowl up to two-thirds or three-fourths of its capacity. The tractor is then halted and the gate is moved back by operating the cable 18. The gate engages the front surface of the heap of dirt ahead of the blade 6 and forces such heap bodily into the bowl until the gate is substantially alined with the blade 6 and forms a closure for the front end of the bowl, as shown in Fig. 2. Of course as much direct pressure is necessary to force the dirt back as to pull the scraper forward but the gate has the advantage of being connected to the tractor by the leverage or power increasing tackle whereas the scraper itself is directly connected to the tractor and the power derived depends on the actual tractive effort of the tractor.

The scraper bowl may thus be made to have a great capacity while using only a medium sized tractor to hold the same. If desired some dirt may be scraped into the bowl, pushed clear to the back by the gate, and another load of dirt then scraped into the bowl to fill the remaining clear space in front of the first heap and so on until the bucket is completely filled.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A scraper including a bowl adapted to be hauled along the ground and open at both ends, and a gate associated with the bowl normally disposed at the front end of the bowl and adapted to be moved rearwardly in and lengthwise of the bowl while engaged with the forward surface of the load of dirt scraped up by the advancing movement of the scraper.

2. A scraper including a bowl adapted to be hauled along the ground and open at both ends, and means associated with the bowl for engaging the forward surface of the load of dirt scraped up by the advancing movement of the scraper and pushing such load back into the bowl selective distances.

3. A structure as in claim 1, with power increasing means for manipulating the gate.

4. A structure as in claim 1, with means supporting and guiding the gate in its longitudinal movement arranged to maintain the gate at a level above the bottom of the bowl when the gate is disposed ahead of the bowl.

5. A scraper including a frame adapted to be hauled along the ground, a bowl rigidly supported by the frame and open at both ends, a gate adapted for movement lengthwise of and in the bowl from the rear end thereof to a point ahead of the scraping edge of the. bowl, means to support and guide the gate from the frame to permit of such movement, power means to pull the gate rearwardly, and automatic means to pull the gate to its foremost position when the rearward pulling action is released.

6. A scraper including a frame adapted to be hauled along the ground, a bowl rigidly supported by the frame and open at both ends, a gate adapted for movement'lengthwise of and in the bowl from the rear end thereof to a point ahead of the scraping edge of the bowl, a carriage from which the gate depends, rollers on the carriage, tracks on the frame on which the rollers ride, said tracks being arranged relative to the lower edge of the gate and to the bottom of the bowl so as to cause said lower edge to lie close to said bottom when moving between the front edges thereof and the tracks sloping upwardly at their forward end to correspondingly raise the gate, and means applied to the carriage to move the same lengthwise of the bowl.

7. A scraper including a frame adapted to be hauled along the ground, a bowl rigidly supported by the frame and open at both ends, a gate adapted for movement length- Wise of and in the bowl from the rear end thereof to a point ahead of the scraping edge of the bowl, means to support and guide the gate in such movement so that its bottom edge w1ll l1e adjacent the bottom of the bowl when moving between the front and rear edges of said bottom and will be raised relative to the bottom when ahead of the same, and means to pull the gate from its foremost to its rear most limit of position.

8. A scraper including a frame adapted to be hauled along the ground, a bowl rigidly supported by the frame and open at both ends, a gate adapted for movement lengthwlse of and in the bowl from the rear end thereof to a point ahead of the scraping edge of the bowl, a carriage from which the gate depends, means on the frame to support and guide the carriage between its limits of movement, tackle blocks fixed on the rear end of the frame, similar blocks on the rear end of the carriage, a cable anchored at one end on the carriage and extending thence about and between the various blocks to a point ahead of the scraper, and separate means to pull the carriage forwardly.

9. A scraper including a frame adapted to be hauled along the ground, a bowl rigidly supported by the frame and open at both ends, a gate adapted for movement lengthwies of and in the bowl from the rear end thereof to a point ahead of the scraping edge of the bowl, a carriage from which the gate depends, means on the frame to support and gulde the carriage between its limits of move ment, power means to pull the carriage rearwardly, a drum mounted on the frame ahead of the carriage, a cable on the drum and anchored on said drum and on the gate, said cable being unwound from the drum with the rearward movement of the gate, and a spring applied to the drum and arranged to be placed under increasing tension with the rotation of the drum in a cable unwinding direction.

10. A scraper including a frame adapted to be hauled along the ground, a bowl rigidly supported by the frame and open at both ends, a gate adapted for movement lengthwise of and in the bowl from the rear end thereof to a point ahead of the scraping edge of the bowl, a carriage from which the gate depends, rollers on the carriage, tracks on the frame on which the rollers ride, said tracks being arranged relative to the lower edge of the gate and to the bottom of the bowl so as to cause said lower edge to lie close to said bottom when moving between the front edges thereof and the tracks sloping upwardly at their forward end to corresponding raise the gate, means applied to the carriage to pull the same rearwardly, a drum mounted on the frame ahead of the bowl and carriage, said drum comprising relatively large and small diameter portions, the large-diameter portion having a helical cable groove leading down to the small diameter portion, a cable anchored in the groove and extending to and secured on the gate, the cable unwinding from and rotating the drum with the rearward movement of the gate; and a helical spring about the small portion of the drum and secured at one end thereto and at the other end to the frame; said spring being placed under increasing tension with the rotation of the drum in a cable unwinding direction and the cable dropping from the large to the small portion of the drum. when, with the forward movement of the gate, the carriage rollers reach the upwardly sloping portion of the tracks.

11. A structure as in claim 9, in which the drum is so formed that the length of cable wound on the drum with each revolution of the same will be less when the carriage is adjacent its forward limit of travel than when the carriage is toward its rear limit of travel.

12. A scraper including a frame adapted to be hauled along the ground, an open ended bowl rigid with the frame, a gate adapted for movement lengthwise of and inthe bowl from the rear end of the same to a point ahead of the scraping edge of the bowl, a carriage from which the gate depends, rollers on the carriage, tracks on the frame on which the rollers ride, said tracks being substantially parallel to the bottom of the bowl for the length of the latter so that the lower edge of the gate is disposed close to said bottom and said tracks sloping upwardly ahead of the bowl to correspondingly raise the gate, and means applied to the carriage to move the same along the tracks.

13. In a scraper having a gate movable lengthwise of the bowl of the scraper, means to pu'l the gate rearwardly, a drum mounted on the scraper ahead of the gate, said drum comprising relatively large and small diameter portions, there being a cable groove connecting the adjacent ends of said portions, a cable connected at one end to the gate and anchored at the other end to the large diameter portion of the drum, the cable unwinding from and rotating the drum in one direction with the rearward movement of the gate, and spring means to rotate the drum in the opposite direction; the cable passing onto the small-diameter portion of the-drum before the gate reaches its forward limit of movement.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ROBERT G. LE TOURNEAU.

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