US1977817A

US1977817A - Trail builder

Info

Publication number: US1977817A
Application number: US696786A
Authority: US
Inventors: Len O Bird
Original assignee: W L ADAMS
Current assignee: W L ADAMS
Priority date: 1933-11-06
Filing date: 1933-11-06
Publication date: 1934-10-23
Anticipated expiration: 1951-10-23

Description

Oct. 23, 1934. L Q BIRD l1,977,817

TRAIL BUILDER Filed Nov. 6, 19.53 4 Sheets-Sheet l lluumllllml'lml.

Oct. 23, 1934. L o, Emp 1,977,811

TRAIL BUILDER` 4 Filed Nov. e, 1933 4 sheets-'sheet 2 Inventor L. O. BIRD TRA-IL BUILDER Oct. 23, 1934.

Filed Nov. 6, 1933 y4 Sheets-Sheet 3 lll/lll Oct. 23, 1934. L. 'Q BIRD 1,977,811

TRAIL BUILDER Filed Nov. 6, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 la. 6a.

a 11x sa 96 102.

Patented oa. 1934 TRAIL BUILDER Len 0. Bird, Glendale, Calif., assigner to W. L.

Adan, Rexlmrg, Idaho Application November s, 193s, serial No. 696,783 1s claim'. (ci. 37-144) 'Ihis invention. relates generallyv to devices commonly known as trail builders which are used for removing or displacing dirt, sand, conglomerate, boulders, stumps, trees and other mate- 5 rials, whether loose or solid, -the present device being designed to perform with superior facility these various objects, singly or combined, under the extremely severe conditions encountered in building fire breaks, trails and roads over heavily wooded,overgrown or rocky terrain or mountain side.

Of the manifold objects of this invention, the prime one is to provide a trailbuilding implement in' which the blade member may bef elevated 1:5 higher than has heretofore been possible, to permit removal of .material from higher levels on the sides of embankments, hills or mountains, to facilitate the rolling of large boulders ahead or over embankments by applying the force near the top of said boulders, and to provide` greater leverage to facilitate the uprooting of trees and stumps.

Another object is the provision of a trail building implement which is connected to and supported on a traction device of any desired type through suitable shock absorbing means Ito prevent the severe impacts and loads resulting from 'uprooting trees and stumps or removing large boulders and massive quantities of other material, from injuring said traction device.

Another and very important object is the provision of a trail building implement which connects to the drawvbar of any desired type of traction device and is supported through a yield- 35 ing and flexible operating mechanism'on the track layer frames of said traction device, thus localizing the pull 'and impact shocks on the draw bar and its connection to the traction device, and

placing the weight of the implement together" 40 l"with the vertical operating loads and strains on the track layer frames, thereby directing the operating loads and strains to the parts of the traction device whichy arespeciilcally designed to perform this severe service.

A further object is the provision of a trail building implement in which the blade member is pivotally secured to the forward end of the frame, thus permitting selectivev adjustment of the angle of the blade with respect to the ground surface without tilting the frame, thereby eliminating the twisting forces and permitting alight er construction of the frame. A Another object is the provision of a. trail building implement which may have a straight trans- 'verse blade for .pushing material ahead of thev implement and by attaching a wing blade at an angle to the transverse blade may be converted to cast the material to either side of the implement.

As a further object it provides a simple and compact yet substantial and highly effective power controlled implement in which the blade member is adaptable to a multiplicity of classes of material moving work and may be raised and lowered lfor controlling the degree of operation quickly and .efllciently with minimum of power and very little strain on the vital parts of the tractor and the control mechanism of the implement, and said blade may also be tilted transversely for selective adjustment of its angle with respect to the ground surface.

This invention is an improvement over the type of mounting and control mechanism described and claimed in my co-pendingapplication for patent filed Jan. 3, 1933, Serial No..649,921, and also the type of 'control mechanism, blade and wing blade attachment described and claimed in my co-pending application for patent filed Aug. 8, 1933, Serial No. 684,215.

With these and other objects in view the inv ventlon consists in the combination, correlation and construction of parts, members and features which will be described in the specification and will be finally pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a device embodying my invention.'r

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of Figure 1 illustrating the extra high lift of the blade member.r

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the slidable support for the rear end of the cantilever brackets. 'Figure 5 is a section on line 5--5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Figure 5. Figure 7 is a section on line '1 -'7 of Figure 5'. 95` 4 Figure 8 is a partially broken away section taken approximately on line 8-8 of Figure 7 and illustrating'atilted positionl of the blade.

'Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the rear of the bulldozer blade. y

Figure 10 is a vertical section through the suspension means ofjthe operating mechanism.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in section and showing the wing blade attach-v ment in place.

Figure 12 is a front elevation, broken away land partially-in section, of Figure 11.

Figure 13 is alperspective view showing the 4 rear of the wing blade attachment. j Figure 14 is a perspective view illustrating the 110 removable bulldozer end plate with the wing blade attachment mounting in place.

Figure 15 is a section on line 15-15 of Figure 1.

Figure 16 is a fragmentary plan view of a modied form of the device.

Figure 17 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view, partlyl broken away and in section illustrating another position of the blade on the device shown in Figure 16.

Figure 18 is a section on line 18-18 of Figure 16.

Figure 19 is a partially broken away section taken approximately on line 19-19 of Figure 18- and illustrating a tilted position of the blade.

Referring to Figures 1 to 15 inclusive:

The implement is shown as comprising a frame 1, consisting of

side members

2 and 3, the rear ends of which-are connected to the draw bar 4 of the tractor T, as shown at 5, and the front ends of which are arranged to be conjoined by a -substantial cross member- 6, which is detachably connected to the

side members

2 and 3 for the purpose of dismantling the frame 1 to facilitate shipment and to substitute cross members carrying other types of tools or blades, one of which is illustrated in Figures 16 to 19 inclusive and which will be described subsequently.

To effect this 4dismantling and substitution quickly and eiciently the cross member 6 is provided with rearwardly projecting extensions 7 which are arranged to engage the ends of

hollow side members

2 and 3, and are retained in place by pins or bolts 8, see Figures 5, 6 and 11.

The blade 9 has a centrally disposed reinforcing member l which in turn has aflixed thereto the fianged trunnion member 11 adapted to be pivotally retained,'as shown at 12, within the bearing 13 mounted on the cross member 6. The bottom surface of the reinforcing member slidably contacts an abutment 14 on the cross member 6 to preventl cocking or forward tilting of blade 9 under operating loads.

The blade 9 also has'near its ends other reinforcing members 15 which are arcuate concentrically with the trunnion member 11 and have the fiat faces 16 adapted to slidably contact the fiat faces 17 on the brackets 18. Brackets 18 are secured to the cross member 6 and are also of an arcuate contour to correspond with reinforcing members 15. Lugs 19 project rearwardly from the reinforcing members 15, have holes 20, and are adapted to engage the arcuate slots 21 in brackets 18. The sides of the arcuate slots 21 have a series of holes 22 bored radially to the center of trunnion member 11.

The angle of the blade 9 is selectively controlled by transversely tilting it about trunnion 11 and then locking it in the selected position by passing pins 23 through holes 22 in brackets 18 and the holes in lugs 19.

The contacting

surfaces

16 and 17 of the reinforcing members 15 and brackets 18, respectively, aid the abutment 14 in preventing forward tilting or cooking of the blade 9 under operating loads in its level or any tilted positions. v

The blade 9 is reinforced longitudinally along the cutting edge by an angle 24 and along the upper edge by web 25. The angle 24 may be welded to the back of the blademember 9 and the web 25 may be formed by bending back the material of which the blade member is made.

The mechanism forcontrolling the degree of operation comprises a transverse shaft 26 journaled in brackets 18 and bearing 13 and having' secured thereon the lever arms 27 which in turn, at their ends, are adapted to pivotally engage clevis members 28 on the vertical rods 29. Each vertical rod 29 is slidably engaged within a ball 30 which in turn is operatively supported Within the socket bearing 31 at the end of each cantilever bracket 32.

Spring 33 interposed between the bottom of ball 30 and the top of clevis 28 tends to neutralize shocks resulting from forcing the blade into the ground and spring 34 interposed between the top o'f ball 30 and the adjusting nut 35 tends to neutralize shocks resulting from abrupt raising of `blade 9. By virtue of the slidable engagement between rod 29 and ball 30 the tension of both

springs

33 and 34 may be regulated by adjusting nut 35.

Each cantilever bracket 32 consists of a forwardly projecting horizontal member 36 having its rear end bent downward as at 37 to form a diagonal brace 38 which is secured to a slide member 39 as shown at 40. The diagonal brace 38 is formed as shown at 41 so that the horizontal member 36 is directly over the tracklayer, thus it can be effectively supported at both the outer and the inner sides of the tracklayer frame F on the supporting member 42 and the bracing member 43 respectively. The slide member 39 is loosely positioned for longitudinal movement on the slide bar 44 supported in bracket 45 which in turn is secured to the tracklayer frame F.

In practice the tracklayer frame F consists of a longitudinally stationary portion 46 and a longitudinally slidable portion 47 with shock absorbing means 48 interposed between the stationary and movable portions 46 and 47 respectively. Therefore, inasmuch as the cantilever bracket 32 is secured rigidly through the supporting member 42 and bracing member 43 to the movable portion 47 of the tracklayer frame F the end of the diagonal brace 38 -is secured to the stationary portion 46 of the tracklayer frame F through the longitudinally slidable member 39 to prevent restriction of the relative longitudinal movement between the portions 46 and 47 of the tracklayer frame F.

The transverse shaft 26 has at one end thereof a crank arm 49 connected as at 50 to piston rod 51 of the hydraulic power unit 52 which in turn is pivotally mounted on side member 3 as shown at 53.

Fluid under pressure is conducted through

hose lines

54 and 55 to the hydraulic power unit 52 from pump 56 and is controlled by valve 57 within pump 56 (conventional therefore not shown in detail) to actuate the lifting and lowering mech mism.

In practice a centrally disposed draw bar connection 58, common in certain types of tractors, is incapable of equalizing any unbalanced pull on said draw bar. For this reason resilient draft means 59 connecting each end of draw bar 4 to therespective sides of tracklayer frames F are provided. Each draft means 59 consists of a rod 60 connected to draw bar 4 as at 61 and slidably engaged within blocks 62 which in turn is secured to the outer side of each tracklayer frame F.. Springs 63 on rod 60 and interposed between each end of block 62 and adjusting nuts 64 tend to absorb the shock incident on the initial pull of the tractor on the frame 1 and also tend to keep the draw bar substantially in the transverse position under an unbalanced pull, thus preventing bending 'and twisting strains on frame 1.

In some cases additional shock absorbing -Y means 65 at the rear ends of

side members

2 and 3 may be used, see Figure 15. Each shock absorbing means 65 consists of a clevis member 66 connected to -draw bar 4 by means of a pin 67 passing through slots-68 in the clevis member 66 and hole 69 at the ends of draw bar 4. The hollow shank 70 of each clevis member 66 ls ilxed Within the hollow ends of

side members

2 and 3 respectively. A spring 71 is positioned within the hollow shank 70 on a bolt 72 and interposed between the head of bolt 72 and the block 73.

The bolt 72 is slidably engaged in block 73 and has the spring tension adjusting nut 73 on its end.

The shock of the initial pull will cause movement of side members 2 and 3.in direction of arrow 75 causing clevis members 66 to move rearwardly across the draw bar 4 by virtue of slots 68 and also by 'reason of abutment of bolt 72 against draw bar 4 causing block '73 to move rearwardly along bolt 72 thereby compresisng spring 71 and absorbing the shock.

In certain types of work it is necessary to cast the removed material to either side of the implement. To accomplish this without substituting the present blade assembly, a reversible'wing blade attachment 76 is provided, see Figures 11 to 14 inclusive.

The wing blade attachment 76 consists of a blade member 77 having two cutting edges 78- and 79 which are reinforced longitudinally by means of

angles

80 and 81 welded tothe back of the blade member. mounted on a boxed frame 82 andis further re- Y inforced by

Webs

83 and 84.

The tapering end 'of the. reversible wing blade attachment 76 is pivotally secured to the bulldozer blade 9 at a point just beyond the center of the blade toward the discharge end of the same, as shown atf 85. The reinforcing web 84 is provided with a flange 86 Vadapted to be secured, by means of bolts 87, to the bracket 88 which in turn is mounted on one of the removable end plates 89. -The bracket 88 has a series of holes 90 which permit selective tilting of wing blade attachment 76 with respect vto the blade 9,` as illustrated by dotted lines B in Figure 12.

By reason of thetiltable blade 9 and the relatively tiltable wing'blade attachment 76 with respect to the blade 9 a combination of angles with respect 'o the ground surface may be obtained.

It w be noted that the Wing blade attachment 76, when in place, dividesl the blade area into two parts, one a comparatively smaller transverse portion and the other a comparatively larger portion at an angle to the line of travel. The larger angled portion provides the suitable` amount of force to cast the removed material to the side of the implement across the transverse portion of the blade efficiently. y

This type of blade in whichv one part of its area is transverse and the other atan angle to the line of travel has beenspeciflcally designed, as pointed out in my co-pending'application for patentled Aug. 8, 1933, Serial No. 684,215, to overcome largely the tendency to deflect the implement and tractor from its course of travel as is the case when using the common straight blade set at an angle for side casting. l

This deflecting tendency is a natural result when using an angled straight blade.- By presenting part of the blade area transversely to the line 'of travel a greater amount of material piles up ahead of the transverse part of the blade, before it is nally discharged, thus increasing the load The blade member 77 is at that side of the blade and tending to balance the deecting effect of the angled part of the blade.

It will also be noted that both removable end plates 89 are used on blade 9 for bulldozing. When the reversible wing blade attachment 76 is used one end plate 89 supports the outer end of the attachment and the other end plate is removed so that it does not obstruct the discharging of the removed material.

Dotted lines C in Figure 11 illustrate the reversed position of wing blade attachment 76.

`Referring toA Figures 16 to 19 inclusive:

lIn this instance the forward ends of side members'2a and 3d of frame la are arranged to be conjoined by a cross member 91 having the form of lan isosceles triangle of which the apex or point projects forwardly. The cross member 91 is provided with the rearwardly .projecting extensions 7a'which are arranged to engage the ends of

hollow side members

2a and 3a and are retained in place by bolts or pins 8a.

A channel 92 is pivotally secured at a point' pivotally retained, as shown at 100, within the bearing 95 by bearing cap 101. The bottom surface of reinforcing member 99 slidably contacts an abutment 102on the channel' 92 to prevent y f cooking or forward tilting of blade 97 under operating loads.

The blade 97 also has near its ends other reinforcing members 103 which are arcuate concentrically with the trunnion member 99 and have the flat faces 104 adapted to slidably contact the flat faces 105 on the bracketsl06. Brackets 106 are secured to the channel 92 and are also of an arcuate contour to correspond with reinforcing members 103.

The angle of blade 97 is selectively controlled by transversely tilting it about trunnion 99 and locking it in the selected position bypassing pins 107 through the holes 108 in the sides forming slots 109 in brackets 106 and the holes 110 in lugs 4111 on the reinforcing members 103. Lugs 111 are adapted to engage the arcuate slots 109 as pointed out above inthe preferred form.

The contacting surfaces 104 and'105vof the reinforcing members 103 and brackets 106 respectively, ald the abutment 102-in preventingl forward tilting of blade 97 under operating loads in its level` orany tiltedpositions.

The blade 97 is reinforce longitudinally along its cutting edge by an an e 112 and along its upper edge by web 113. l

A transverse shaft 1' 4 journaled in bearings 1 15 on the cross mem r 91 has fixed thereon a pair of lever arms 116/ and at one end thereof a crank arm 117. 'I'he lever arms 116 and crank '.arm 117 are connected .to the'rods 29a of the reand blade 97 may be adjusted, as shown in Figure 16, for pushing removed material ahead of the implement or as in Figure 17 for casting the material to the side of the implement. The blade is retained in its transverse position by links 118 and in the side casting position by link 119 at one side and boltl 120 passing through channel 92 and cross member 91 at the other side.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

l. In a trail builder, a frame adapted for connection to a traction device, a blade atA the forward end of said frame, a lifting and lowering device on said frame, brackets secured to the tracklayer frames of said traction4 device, flexible and resilient connecting means between said lifting and lowering device and said brackets.

2. In a trail builder, the combination of a frame, resilient means for connecting said frame to a tractor, a blade at the forward end of said frame, hydraulic operation degree control means on said frame, cantilever brackets on the tracklayer framesof said tractor, flexible and resilient connecting means between said hydraulic operation degree control means and said cantilever brackets.

3. In an implement of the character disclosed, the combinationof a frame having rearwardly extending side members, resilient means for connecting the rear ends of said side members to the draw bar of a tractor, a blade at the forward end of said frame, hydraulically operated raising'and lowering device at the forward end of said frame, cantilever brackets on the tracklayer frames of said tractor, resilient and flexible connecting means between said raising and lowering device and said cantilever brackets.

4. In an implement of the character described, the combination of a frame resiliently connected to the draw bar of a tractor, auxiliary flexible and resilient draft means between said draw bar and the tracklayer frames of said tractor, a blade at the forward end of said frame, hydraulic operation degree control means at the forward end of said frame, cantilever brackets on said tracklayer frames, flexible and resilient connecting means between said operation degree control means andl said cantilever brackets.

5. In a trail builder, a frame adapted for resilient connection to a traction device, a blade pivoted for transverse tilting on the forward end of said frame, means for retaining said blade in the selected position, hydraulic means for controlling the degree of operation on said frame, cantilever brackets on the tracklayer frames of said traction device, flexible and resilient means for connecting said operation degree control means to said cantilever brackets.

6. A trail building implement comprising a frame resiliently connected to a tractor, a blade pivoted for transverse tilting on the forward end of said frame, means for locking said blade in the selected position, means for preventing forward tilting of said blade, hydraulic lifting and lowering means on the forward end of said frame, forwardly projecting cantilever brackets on the tracklayer frames of said tractor, flexible and resilient means for connecting said lifting and lowering means to the forward ends of said cantilever brackets.

7. In a device of the character disclosed, in

. combination with a frame connected'to the draw bar of a tractor, an auxiliary draft means which consists of rods connected to the drawbar of said tractor, brackets on the tracklayer frames of said tractor for slidably supporting the forward ends of said rods, springs on said rods interposed between the sides of said brackets and tension adjusting means.

8. In al device of the character disclosed, in combination with a frame having rearwardly extending side members, shock absorbing means comprising hollow shanked clevis members fixed within'the ends of said side members, pin and slot connection between said clevis members and the draw bar of a tractor, bolts slidably supported within the ends of said side members, heads of said bolts abutting against said draw bar,- springs interposed between the heads of said bolts and their supporting means, tension adjusting nuts on said bolts.

9. A trail builder comprising a frame connected to a tractor, a transverse blade tiltably pivoted on the forward end of said frame, removable end plates on said transverseblade, a reversible wing Ablade pivoted at one end near the center of said transverse blade, said wing blade inclined forward at an angle to said transverse blade, means for selectively 'adjusting the tilt of said wing blade, means on said frame for raising and lowering said trail builder, flexible and resilient means for connecting said raising and lowering means to a tractor.

l0. In a trail builder, the combination of a frame resiliently connected to a tractor, hydraulic operation degree control means on said frame, cantilever brackets on the tracklayer frames of said tractor, flexible and resilient connecting means between said operation degree control means and said cantilever brackets, a transverse blade tiltably pivoted on the forward 'end of said frame, means for locking said blade in the selected position, means for preventing forward tilting of said blade, removable end plates on said blade, a reversible wing blade tiltably pivoted at o ne end near the center of said transverse blade, said wing blade inclined forward at an angle with respect to said transverse blade, means for supporting the outer end of said wing blade and means for selectively adjusting the tilt of said wing blade.

11. In an implement as described in claim 10, in which the wing blade comprises a reversible blade having two cutting edges, longitudinal reinforcing means for said cutting edges, a frame for mounting said blade thereon, vertical reinforcing webs between said frame and said blade, a pivotal support for one end of said blade and a selectively adjustable support for the other end of said blade.

12. A trail builder comprising a yframe connected to a tractor, a raising and lowering device on said frame, cantilever brackets on the tracklayer frames of said tractor, resilient and flexible connecting means between said raising and lowering device and said cantilever brackets, a tiltable blade swingingly associated with the forward end of said frame, means for locking saidlblade in the selected transverse or angled positions and means for locking said blade in the selected tilted position.

13. In a trail builder, the combination of a frame resiliently connected to a tractor, hydraulicv operation degree control means on said frame, cantilever brackets on the tracklayer frames of said tractor, flexible and resilient connecting means between said operation degree control means and said cantilever brackets, a transverse member swingingly supported atthe forward end of said frame, a blade tiltably pivoted to said transverse member, means for locking said blade with said transverse member in the selected position, means for preventing forward tilting of said 150 blade and means for locking said transverse member in the transverse or angled positions.

14. In an implement of the character disclosed, the combination of a frame, a triangular cross member at the forward end thereof, a transverse member swingingly pivoted to the apex of said triangular cross member, a blade tiltably pivoted to said transverse member, means for locking said blade to said transverse member in the selected tilted position, means for preventing forward tiltn ing of said blade, means for locking said transverse member and blade assembly in the transverse or angled position. 15. In an implement as described in claim 12, in which the lifting and lowering means consist of a transverse shaft journaled on the forward end of the frame, lever arms on said shaft, flexible and resilient means for connecting said lever arms to the cantilever brackets, a crank arm at one end of said shaft, a hydraulic power unit on one of the side members of said frame and connected to said crank arm.

16. In an implement as describedl in claim 12, in which the exible and resilient means con necting the raising and lowering device to the cantilever brackets consist of vertical rods connected to said raising and lowering means, balls slidably positioned on said rods, socket bearings for said balls at the forward ends of said cantilever brackets, springs on said rods for absorbing the raising and lowering shocks, tension adjusting means for said springs.

17. In an implement of the character disclosed, a frame adapted for connection to a tractor having telescoping tracklayer frames, a blade, control mechanism on said frame, cantilever brackets, rigid supports for said cantilever brackets on the sldable portions of the telescoping tracklayer frames of said tractor, slidable supports for said cantilever brackets on the fixed portions of said telescopin'g tracklayer frames, means for connecting said control mechanism to said brackets.

18. In an implement of the character disclosed, in combination with a frame adapted for connection to a tractor having telescoping tracklayer frames, a blade on said frame, hydraulic control mechanism on said framel cantilever brackets rigidly lsupported on the slidable portions of the telescoping tracklayer frames of said tractor. braces for said brackets, means for slidably securing said braces to the fixed portions of said tracklayer frames, means for connecting said hydraulic control mechanism to said brackets.

LEN O. BIRD.