US2312255A - Grader - Google Patents

Description

Fgb. 23, 1943. E. w. LOWDERMILK GRADER Filed March 13, 1941 A 'r'T'nDNA-v Patented F eb. 23, 1943 UNETED stares-"rarer ea les 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a grader for finishing the banks of fills or cuts in the building of roadways and has for its principal object the pro vision of a simple, highly efficient device which can be quickly and easily attached to any suit-' able vehicle so as to extend either downwardly or upwardly at the side of the vehicle for the purpose of smoothing and filling the banks of cuts and fills along the roadway.

Another object is to so construct the device that the desired angle of the bank can be accurately preset by the operator so that the bank will be cut to an accurate finished angle.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a device of this character which can be attached to the arm of a road machine of the bulldozer type so that the operator can regulate the operating angle of the invention by use of the regular bulldozer controls; and to so construct the device that it cannot twist about its longitudinal aXis when in use so that an absolutely accurate and smooth bank will be obtained regardless of soil conditions.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efiiciency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a rear view of a typical grader of the bulldozer type illustrating the invention in place thereon as it would appear when finishing the bank of a roadway fill;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof; and Fig. 3 is a detail perspective View of the attachment hinge and pivot.

In the drawing a typical road tractor is illustrated at Hi with its-bulldozer blade at H and its dozer arm at l2. A tractor so equipped is called a bulldozer and is employed for pushing earth, rock, etc. by means of the blade II. The dozer arms I2 carry the blade at their forward extremities and extend rearwardly to suitable pivots [3. The tractor is equipped with two cable reels 26 at the rear driven from the tractor engine through suitable control transmissions. It is also equipped with an overhead frame 28. The bulldozer blade I l is raised and lowered by means of a cable 35 extending from the blade II over suitable sheaves on the frame 28 to one of the drums 26. Therefore, the angle of the dozer arms and the height of the blade II is always within control of the operator. This invention makes use of the dozer arms [2 and thereby obtains the advantage of the operators control of these arms.

The invention comprises a drag frame consisting of two longitudinally extending drag beams 14 held in rigid, spaced, parallel relation by means of intermediate frame members IS. The drag frame is fixedly connected at one extremity to a table plate It which is pivoted on a hinge plate I! by means of a suitable pivot bolt Ill; The bolt l8 clamps the table plate It and the;

hinge plate I! together so that they cannot rotate or twist about the longitudinal axis of the;

drag frame.

The hinge plate I! is hingedly connected to an angle member 3! by means of a'suitable hinge% The angle member liesi outer extremity about the hinge bolt 20 and it can be swung forwardly and backwardly about If the operator raises or lowers the blade II, the incline of the? dozer arms l2 will be changed and the axis of." the hinge bolt 26 will be tilted. 3

The drag frame is prevented from swinging the axis of the pivot bolt 18.

rearwardly beyond a predetermined angle by means of a tie cable 22 which extends from a connection with the frame of the dozer blade ll rearwardly and outwardly through rings 23 on the drag members [4 terminating in a terminal loop 24. The loop 24 is slipped over any one of a plurality of projecting pins 25 on the rearward drag member l4. Thus, by changing the position of the loop 24 on the pins 25, the operating angle of the drag frame can be varied. The vertical angle or bite of the drag frame to accommodate any operating angle, is constantly under the control of the operator of the bulldozer ID through.

his control of the dozer arms l2.

An A-shaped hoist boom 30 is hinged on suitable hinge ears 31 projecting from the upper side of the angle member 3|. The hoist boom 30 is supported at an outwardly inclined angle by means of a fixed cable guy 32. A lifting cable 2'! is extended from the second drum 26 about suitable sheaves 29 on the frame 28, around a sheave 33 at the apex of the hoist boom 30, outwardly and downwardly about a sheave 34 on the drag frame, thence back to a fixed connection on the.

hoist boom 30. Thus, it can be seen that the operator can by operation of the second drum 26 raise or lower the outer extremity of the drag frame.

The cable guy 32 is secured at its two extremities adjacent the front and back of the overhead frame 28. Intermediate its extremities this cable passes through a sheave or ring 38 on the hoist boom 30 to support the latter. This arrangement allows the upper extremity of the hoist boom to swing forward and back with the movements of the dozer arm l2 without affecting the supporting function of the cable 32.

The use of the device is believed to be clearly apparent from the above description. When forming the side slopes of fills, the drag frame is lowered to the specified angle of the fill and the bulldozer is driven along the roadway above as shown in Fig. 1. The operator can change the incline of the drag frame to cause it to cut more earth or to dump collected earth by simply raising or lowering the bulldozer blade H which changes the horizontal angle of the drag frame I4. .Should the slope being finished be shorter than the length of the drag frame, the effective length thereof can be shortened by simply changing the position of the cable 22 on the pins 25 to allow the frame to swing further rearward so as to approach more closely the side of the road.

The device is similarly used for smoothing the inclined banks in roadway cuts for which use it is elevated to an upwardly extended angle at the side of the bulldozer.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

' Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A roadside grading attachment for tractors comprising: an attachment member; means for attaching said member to a tractor; a substantially horizontally disposed, elongated hinge on said member; a flat hinge plate extending from said hinge; a fiat table plate resting against said hinge plate; a single pivot bolt clamping said two plates together; a drag member secured to and projecting from said table plate; a hoist hingedly mounted on and arising from said attachment member; a guy cable attached at its extremities to said tractor; means on said hoist slidably engaging said guy cable to support the hoist yet allowing free forward and back movement thereof; hoisting means extending from said hoist'to said drag member to raise or lower the latter about the axis of the hinge; and adjustable means for limiting the rearward swing of said drag member about the axis of said pivot bolt.

2. A roadside grading attachment for a bulldozer of the type having vertically swinging dozer arms comprising: an attachment member; means for attaching said member to a dozer arm of said bulldozer; a universal hinge on said member; a drag member hinged at its inner extremity on said universal hinge; a hoist boom mounted on and arising from said attachment member; hoisting means extending from said hoist boom to said drag member to raise or lower the latter about the axis of the hinge; means for limiting the rearward swing of said drag member about the axis of said hinge; a cable secured at its forward and rearward extremities adjacent the forward and rearward extremities of said bulldozer; and a cable engaging member carried by said hoist boom and movably engaging said cable .to support the hoist boom yet allowing free forward and back movement thereof along said cable as said dozer arm is raised and lowered.

3. A road side drag attachment for the dozer arm of a bulldozer of the type described comprising: two longitudinally extending drag beams; means for holding said beams in fixed parallel relation; a table plate fixed to andprojecting from said beams at their inner extremity; a hinge ,plate; a pivot member securing said hinge plate against said'table plate; an elongated hinge extending across the inner edge of said hinge plate; a vertical plate hingedly mounted along said hinge and rising therefrom; means for clamping said vertical plate against the outer face of said dozer arm; a horizontal flange along the upper edge of the vertical plate overlying the upper face of said dozer arm to maintain said hinge parallel with said dozer arm so that it will follow the movements of the latter; and means for maintaining said drag beams at any desired vertical and horizontal angle.

4. A road side drag attachment for the dozer arm of a bulldozer of the type described comprising: two longitudinally extending drag beams; means for holding said beams in fixed parallel relation; a table plate to and projecting from said beams at their inner extremity; a hinge plate; a pivot member securing said hinge plate against said table plate; an elongated hinge extending across the inner edge of said hinge plate; a vertical plate hingediy mounted along said hinge and rising therefrom; means for clampingsaid vertical plate against the outer face ofsaid dozer arm; a horizontal flange along the upper edge of the vertical piate overlying the upper face of said dozer arm to maintain said hinge parallel with the dozer arm so that it will follow the movements of the latter; hinge members on said flange; an A-shaped hoist boom arising from said latter hinge members; a guy supporting said boom at an outwardly inclined angle; a cable extending from said boom to support the outer extremity of said drag beams; and means for limiting the rearward swing of said drag beams.

ELBERT W. LOWDERMILK.

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