US2659166A

US2659166A - Land leveling machine

Info

Publication number: US2659166A
Application number: US90470A
Authority: US
Inventors: Berton M Mathias
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1949-04-29
Filing date: 1949-04-29
Publication date: 1953-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 1970-11-17

Description

Nov. 17, 1953 B. M. MA'rHlAs LAND LEVELING MACHINE 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed April 29, 1949 4 Trae/Vey.;

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Patented Nov. 17, v 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to land leveling machines, and more particularly to a large, poweroperated machine for leveling agricultural lands "for irrigation, aircraftrunways, and other large areas where a level condition of the surface is desired.

It is among the objects of the invention to pro- 'vide an improved land-leveling machine having a movable scoop for either storing or dumping earth, depending upon the position of the scoop, and power-operated means automatically controlling movements of the scoop in accordance with the level of the land below the scoop, so that the machine will remove earth from high places in the area and deposit it in low places in proportion to the departure of such low places from the general level desired, which machine has a length sunicient to obtain a level condition of the area regardless of small or local rises and depressions, and includes means for leveling minor irregularities in the path of the machine-supporting wheels and for removing obstructions, such as stones and debris, from the path of such wheels, which further' includes means for supporting its front endv over an elongated contact area with the ground surface, so that minor irregularities in the untreated ground ahead of the machine will not cause the machine to deviate materially from the general level desired, and which machine is simple, strong and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, easy to use and t transport from place-to-place, and substantially fully automatic in operation.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a land-leveling machine illustrative of the invention, certain portions being broken away and omitted for the purpose of simplifying the drawings;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the land-leveling machine illustrated in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal, medial cross-section on an enlarged scale of a hydraulic mechanism constituting an operative component of the machine illustrated in Figures l and 2;

Figure lis a perspective view of a fragmentary portion of the machine showing certain details of construction thereof; and

Figure is a transverse cross-section on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

With continued reference to the drawings, and particularly to Figures 1 and 2, the machine coinprises, -in general, an v,elongated structural frame III, a pair of rear wheels II secured to and supporting the rear end of the frame, a pair of front wheels I2 secured to and supporting the front end of the frame, a machine-towing tongue I3 for operatively connecting the machine to a towing tractor, steering mechanism I4 operatively interconnected between the tongue I3 and the steerable front wheels I2, a pair of skids I5 carried by the frame below the latter and respectively in advance of the front wheels I2, a pair of sc rapers I6 disposed below and carried by the frame at the front end of the latter and positioned respectively in advance of the skids i5, a scraping blade I'I extending transversely below the frame substantially at the mid-length location of the latter, a scoop I8 pivotally connected at its forward edge inter-connected between the frame II! and the scoop I8 for tilting the scoop7 and a ground-engaging wheel 2e pivotally carried by the frame I0 adjacent the blade Il and operatively connected to the hydraulic mechanism I9 to control the tilting of the scoop I8 by the hydraulic mechanism in accordance with the departure of ground depressions from the general ground level desired.

The frame Ill may be conveniently provided as an elongated, trussed structure of suitable structural iron shapes, such as angle irons, channel irons, and I-beams, and is of the lightest weight possible consistent with the necessary highv degree of longitudinal rigidity thereof. As illustrated, the frame comprises a substantially three-dimensional, rectangular, center portion 2I, a tapering front portion 22 extending forwardly from the Vfront end of the center portion, and a tapering rear portion 23 extending rearwardly from the rear end of the center portion.

Each of the rear wheels I I is journaled in arespective fork 24, and each fork is provided with a respective, vertically-disposed stem 25 rotatably and slidably received in a respective, vertically- 'disposed sleeve 26 rigidly secured to the rear end 'of the tractor frame I0. A transverse shaft 2l is rear wheels I I upon rotation of the shaft 21. The shaft 21 may be rotated by any suitable power or manually-operated means, a hand lever 30 being illustrated as secured at one end to the shaft 21 and cooperating with a toothed quadrant 3I to hold the rear end of the frame at any desired position of elevation relative to the rear wheels II. This frame-elevating means is used primarily to raise the frame to a sufcient height relative to the rear wheels for transportation of the machine from place-to-place along highways and roads.

The stems 25 may be held against rotation relative to the sleeves by the outwardly-projecting pins, so that the rear wheels always extend directly rearwardly of the frame, or, if desired, suitable steering mechanism may be operatively connected between the frame and the rear wheels I I, so that the rear wheels can be steered to facilitate movement of the machine. Such steerable rear wheels would constitute a decided advantage since these machines are frequently sixty feet or more in length and dimculty would otherwise be encountered in moving them around sharp curves and intersections.

The front wheels I2 are journaled on individual struts 32 at the lower ends of such struts and these struts extend upwardly into respective frame-carried guides 33 and are slidable and rotatable in the guides. Respective steering arms 34 extend forwardly from the struts 32, and these steering arms are inter-connected at their forward, distal ends by a tie rod 35. A hinged steering arm 36 is pivotally mounted intermediate its length on a transverse frame member 31 by a pivot joint 38 disposed substantially at the midlength location of the frame member 31. vAt its rearward end the arm 36 is provided with a longitudinally-extending slot, and a pivot pin 39 extends through this slot and is attached to the tie rod 35 substantially at the mid-length location of the latter. The tongue I3 is pivotally connected intermediate its length to the front end of the frame by a pivot joint 40, and its rearward end is pivotally connected to the forward end of the steering arm 36 by a link 4I. With this construction, when the tongue I3 is swung Krom side-to-side by the towing tractor, the front wheels I2 will be correspondingly steered so that the front end of the land-leveling machine will track after the tractor.

A transverse shaft 42 is journaled in the frame I adjacent the guides 33, and arms 43 extend rearwardly from this shaft to the outer sides of the guides .33. Respective pins extend outwardly from the struts 32 and are engaged in respective slots provided in the rearward or distal ends of the arms 43, so that the front end of the frame I0 will be raised or lowered upon rotation of the shaft 42.

Any suitable manually, or power-operated means may be provided for imparting rotational movements to the shaft 42, but as illustrated, this means comprises an elongated hand lever 44 secured at one end to the shaft 42 and cooperating with a xed, toothed quadrant 45 to hold the front end of the frame at any desired position of elevation relative to the front wheels I2.

A pair of elongated skids or runners I is positioned below the frame adjacent the front end of the latter and respectively in advance of the Yfront wheels I2 and are rigidly secured to the frame by suitable means, such as the respective standards 41. When the frame is lowered to operative position, these skids rest upon the surface of the ground and, having in contact with 4 the ground a length which is a substantial fraction of the total length of the machine, tend to level out minor inequalities in the ground surface, so that, when the machine is in operation the bottom of the frame does not deviate substantially from the general level desired.

The skids are preferably adjustable in a vertical direction relative to the frame, and this is accomplished by extending the respective standards 41 through corresponding apertured lugs 48 secured to the frame at the front end of the latter and adjustably securing the standards in the lugs by suitable means, such as the set screws. 49.

The Scrapers I6 are positioned respectively in advance of the skids I5, and are supported in advance of the frame I0 by respective brackets 50 which project forwardly from the frame and are provided at their forward ends with eyes 5I which slidably receive the scraper standards 52, these standards being heldin adjusted position in the adjusted eyes 5I by suitable means, such as the set screws 53.

It will be noted that the hinged joint 54 in the steering arm 36 permits the frame to be raised and lowered relative to the front wheels I2 without disrupting the steering mechanism.

The scraper blade I1 extends transversely of the frame I0 at the bottom of the frame and substantially at the mid-length location of the frame, and is rigidly secured to the frame by suitable means, such as by being welded, as indicated at 55, at its ends to the respective bottom, longitudinal members 56 of the frame, as clearly illustrated in Figure 4. This blade extends downwardly and forwardly to a location somewhat below the frame and is beveled on its bottom edge, as indicated at 51, to provide a cutting edge 58. At its upper, rearward end the blade is provided with a series of spaced-apart, cylindrical eyes 59 which receive a rod 60 which extends transversely of the frame and serves as a hinge pin for the scoop I8. A reinforcing web EI extends from the rear side of the blade near the lower end of the latter to the lower sides of the cylindrical eyes 59, and is welded along its opposite edges to the blade and to the eyes to provide a strong and rigid construction for the blade.

When the machine is pulled across the area to be leveled with the frame in proper lowered position relative to the rear and front wheels, and with the skids I5 resting on the ground, the cutting edge 0f the blade I1 will shear off all of the high portions of the ground down to the prescribed level, and the earth thus sheared off by the blade I1 is moved rearwardly into the scoop I8 by the forward movement of the machine.

The scoop I8 is a box-like structure having an open top and front end, and is pivotally connected at its forward edge to the frame at the upper, rearward edge of the blade I1 by spacedapart, cylindrical eyes 62 which surround the rod 50 and constitute a piano-type hinge joint for the front edge of the scoop. The scoop I8 has a width substantially equal to the width of the frame I0 and to the length of the blade i1, and when this scoop is in its fully lowered position, as illustrated in Figure 2, its bottom 63 rests upon the bottom members of the center portion 2| of the frame as indicated at 63', and

is disposed in a substantially horizontal position.

This scoop is tiltable about the hinge joint provided by the .eyes 62 and the rod 5.0 by raisins its rearward end to incline its bottom 63 forwardly and downwardly to spill or dump earth from the scoop over the blade I'I to the ground when low places in the ground are encountered, an-d this tilting of the scoop is accomplished by the hydraulic mechanism I9.

The hydraulic mechanism I9 comprises an elongated cylinder 64 which extends longitudinal- Y ly of the center portion of the frame above and forwardly of the scoop I8, and is pivotally connected at its forward end to a transverse frame member 65 by a suitable pivotal connection including spaced-apart, apertured lugs 66 on the frame member, an apertured eye 61 on the end of the cylinder, and a pivot pin 65 extending through the lugs 66 and the eye 61. A piston 63 is reciprocable in the cylinder 64 and a piston rod 69 extends rearwardly from the piston 68 through a stuffing box 'I in the rear end of the cylinder and is pivotally connected at its rearward end to the rear end of the scoop I8. This pivotal connection may conveniently comprise a pair of spaced-apart, apertured lugs 7l upstanding from the scoop at the rear end of the latter, an apertured eye formed on the rear end of the piston rod 69, and a pivot pin 'l2 extending through the lugs 'II and the eye on the rear end of the piston rod.

With this construction, when the piston 68 is .moved forwardly in the cylinder lid, the rear end of the scoop i8 will be moved upwardly and forwardly, tilting the scoop bottom 63 to a forwardly and downwardly-inclined position for dumping earth from the scoop, and when the piston moves rearwardly in the cylinder the scoop will be returned to its earth-storing position, in which its bottom is substantially horizontal and rests upon the bottom members of the frame.

Movements of the piston 68 in the cylinder 64 are controlled by a hydraulic valve, generally indicated at "I3, and which is preferably mounted on the upper side of the cylinder 64.

The valve I3 has an outer shell or housing 14, preferably of elongated, cylindrical construction which is xed relative to the movable parts of the valve and is preferably rigidly mounted on the hydraulic cylinder 64. A tubular plunger l is slidable in the housing 1li, and an inner plunger I5 is longitudinally slidable in the tubular a plunger 'I5 and the housing 'M The housing I4 is provided, substantially at its mid-length location, with a pressure fluid inlet port 'I1 from which a fluid conduit 'i8 extends to a suitable source of hydraulic fluid under pressure, such as the hydraulic pump outlet of the machinetowing tractor. At opposite sides of the inlet port TI, the housing is provided with respective outlet ports 'Ill and Sd which are substantially equally spaced from the inlet port 1l, and from which respective conduits I9 and 8G' extend to a suitable iluid sump connected with the inlet ci the hydraulic purnp of the tractor. Preferably the conduits 'I9' and BIB are Y-ed together, to provide a single return line extending forwardly of the machine frame It for connection to the tractor hydraulic pump sump.

The tubular valve plunger I5 has thereon external,

annular valve gates

82, 83, 84, 35, 86 and S'l spaced apart longitudinally on said plunger to provide annular reduced portions between adjacent gates. The two gates 82 and 81 are disposed at respectively opposite sides of the plunger, while the two gates 84 and 85 are disposed at respectively opposite sides of the inlet port il in the valve housing. The gate 83 is spaced from the side of the outlet port opposite the inlet port TI, and the gate 86 is correspondingly spaced from the outer side of the outletI port 19. A port 88 in the tubular plunger l5, between the gates 84 and 85, connects the inlet port 11 with the interior of the tubular plunger, and ports 89 and 90 between the gates 83 and Bt, and the gates and 86 respectively connect the outlet ports 8l! and 'I9 with the interior of the tubular plunger l5. A port SI opens to the interior of the tubular plunger 'I5 at a location adjacent the annular valve gate 84 and is connected by a longitudinally-extending passage 92 in the tubular plunger to a port $3 which opens tothe exterior of the tubular plunger between the valve gates 82 and 83. Similarly, a port 94 opens to the interior of the tubular plunger 'I5 adjacent the valve gate 85 and is connected by a longitudinally-extending passage 95 to. a port 9S which opens to the exterior of the tubular plunger between the valve gates 3E and Sl.

A port 9'! in the wall of the cylinder M opens to the exterior of the cylinder wall between the valve gates 82 and 83, and is connected by a passage 9S extending longitudinally through the wall of the cylinder to a port SS which opens to the interior of the cylinder 54 at the rear end of the latter. Similarly, a port I il@ opens to the exterior of the cylinder, 64 between the valve gates B6 and S1, and is connected by a longitudinally-extending passage lill to a port |92 which opens to the interior of the cylinder E4' at the front end of the cylinder.

The inner plunger IS has three spaced-apart, valve gates or pistons Iilll, IBA and 85 thereon, and when the valve is in its neutral position, as illustrated in Figure 3, these three pistons respectively underlie the ports 89, 83 and Sil in the tubular plunger l5. A reduced portion |65 of the inner plunger 'I6 extends through a stulnng box IEi'I in the front end of the tubulaiplunger 'I5 and through the iront wall of the housing I4 into the cylinder Hi8 of a hydraulic servo mechanisin, the cylinder IES being attached at its rear end to the front wall of the valve housing 'I4 by suitable means, such as the threaded connection Idil. A piston III! is secured on the end of the reduced portion I of the valve plunger 'IB within the servo cylinder Il, and a hydraulic conduit III leads from the front end of the cylinder |08 to a hydraulic'rnaster cylinder II2 mounted on a vertical member of the machine frame ill. The master cylinder IIE may be a conventional master cylinder, such as is used in hydraulic brake mechanisms of automotive vehicles, and, since such master cylinders are well known to the art, a detailed description of the unit H2 is considered unnecessary for the purposes of the present disclosure.

A ground-engaging wheel 28 is journaled in the outer end of a fork H3 provided on one leg IM of a'bell crank lever, generally indicated at H5, which is pivotally mounted at its knee on the frame by a pivotal connection IE secured to a vertical frame member, preferably the member on which the master cylinder H2 is mounted. The other or vertically-disposed leg Il of the bell crank lever is connected at its upper end to the plunger II of the master cylinder IIE, the arrangement being such that when the wheel 28 drops into a depression in the ground, the plunger IIB is pulled outwardly of the master cylinder H2 and when the wheel is raised by a succeeding high portion in the ground the plunger H8 is forced inwardly or the master cylinder.

With this construction, when the wheel 20 descends into a low portion of the ground, the plunger I I8 will be pulled out, withdrawing fluid from the cylinder |08 ahead of the piston |I0 and permitting the compression spring |I9 to move the inner vplunger 16 forwardly. When this happens, the piston |04 uncovers the port 88 and connects it with the port 9| between the piston |04 and the piston |03, so that hydraulic fluid under pressure may flow from the conduit 18 through the ports 11, 88, and 9|, the passage 92, the ports 93 and 91, the passage 9S and the port 99 into the rear end portion of the hydraulic cylinder 64 to force the piston 68 forwardly and raise the rear portion of the scoop |23.

As the rear portion of the scoop I8 is raised, the rear end of the hydraulic cylinder I9 will be correspondingly raised. An L-shaped bracket |20 projects upwardly and rearwardly from the rear end of the outer valve housing 1Q, and a bell crank lever I 2| is pivotally mounted at its knee on the bracket |20 at the rear end of the latter. A link |22 connects the outer end of one leg of the bell crank lever |2| to the top of the frame I0, and the other leg of the bell crank lever is connected at its outer end to an actuating rod |23 which extends rearwardly on the rear end of the tubular valve plunger through a stufling box |24, in the rear end of the valve housing 14. The downwardly extending leg of the bell Crank lever is provided with a longitudinally-extending slot |25, and a pin |26 secured to the rear end of the actuating rod |23 extends through this slot to provide a lost-motion connection between the bell crank lever and the rear end of the actuating rod.

With this construction, when the scoop is raised with the consequent raising of the rear end of the hydraulic cylinder 64, the tubular valve plunger 15 will be moved forwardly with the rising of the rear end of the scoop until the port 88 is again centered over the piston |04 of the inner plunger 15 of the valve, at which position of the scoop hydraulic fluid to the cylinder 64 will be cut off and the piston 68 stopped. Simultaneously the ports 89 and 90 are moved over the pistons |03 and |05, so that the return of hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic cylinder is also cut off and the scoop is held against movement in a predetermined position corresponding to the extent to which the ground-engaging wheel has descended.

As long as the ground-engaging wheel continues to descend, the plunger 16 will be continuously moved forwardly and the tubular` plunger 15 will continue to follow up this forward movement of the inner plunger as the scoop is tilted by the forward movement of the piston 68 in the hydraulic cylinder 64. Forward movement of the inner plunger 16 relative to the tubular plunger 15 also moves the piston |05 forwardly of the port 90, so that the forward end of the hydraulic cylinder 64 is connected to the return line 8| through the port |02, the passage |0|, the ports |00, 96, the passage 95, the port 94, and the ports 90 and 19.

When the ground-engaging wheel rises and the plunger ||8 is forced inwardly of the master cylinder ||2, hydraulic nuid is forced into the servo cylinder |08, moving the piston ||0 and the inner valve plunger 16 rearwardly, reversing the above operation in a manner such that the front end of the hydraulic cylinder is vconnected with the fluid pressure conduit 13 and the rear end of the hydraulic cylinder is connected with the return conduit 82, so that the piston 68 will move rearwardly in the hydraulic cylinder to lower the scoop. Lowering of the scoop causes the tubular plunger 15 to also move rearwardly following the rearward movement of the inner plunger 15, so that the scoop will be lowered in proportion to the amount of rise of the groundengaging wheel, and will be stopped whenever vertical movement of the ground-engaging wheel ceases.

With the above-described arrangement, the scoop will be tilted proportionately to the depth of any depression encountered by the groundeengaging wheel to dump into 'such depression the required amount of earth, which earth will then be leveled by the blade |1. If a deep depression is encountered, the scoop will be sharply tilted to quickly dump a large quantity of earth into the depression, whereas, if only a shallow depression is encountered, the scoop will be moderiately inclined to dump a proportionately smaller quantity of earth into the shallow depression.

The invention may be embodied in other spe'- cic forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come Within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

l. A land-leveling machine comprising an elongated frame having a front end 'and a rear end, wheels connected to said frame at its front and rear ends for supporting the latter, a scraper blade secured to and extending transversely of said frame near the mid-length location of the latter, said blade being inclined forwardly and downwardly relative to said frame, an earthreceiving scoop pivotally connected at its forward edge to said frame at the rear edge of said blade and extending rearwardly from the latter, hydraulic mechanism connected between said frame and said scoop for tilting said scoop about the pivotal connection between said scoop and said frame to discharge earth from said scoop, said hydraulic mechanism being movable relative to said frame and including a control valve, a bell crank lever pivotally mounted on said frame, a groundengaging wheel carried by said bell crank lever at one end of the latter, a motion transmitting connection between the opposite end of said bell crank lever` and said control valve, and a motion transmitting connection between said frame and said control valve for controlling the operation of said hydraulic mechanism to move said scoop in accordance with the vertical movements of said ground-engaging wheel.

2. A land-leveling machine comprising an elongated frame having a front end and a rear end, wheels connected to said frame at its front and rear ends for supporting the frame, a scraper blade secured to and extending transversely across said frame near the mid-length location of the latter, said blade being inclined forwardly and downwardly relative to said frame, an earth-receiving scoop pivotally connected at its forward edge to said frame at the rear edge of said blade and extending rearwardoperated means, a lever pivotally connected to said frame and extending forwardly of said blade, a ground-engaging device carried by said lever ahead of said blade, motion transmitting means connected between said lever and said control means and motion transmitting means connected to said control means and responsive to movements of said scoop, said motion transmitting means together controlling the operation of said power operated means to tilt said scoop in accordance with the vertical movements of said ground-engaging device.

3. A land leveling machine comprising an elongated frame, a pair of rear wheels secured to said frame at the rear end thereof, a pair of steerable front wheels secured to said frame at the front end thereof, a scraper blade secured to and extending transversely of said frame near the midlength location of the latter, said blade being inclined forwardly and downwardly relative to said frame, an earth-receiving scoop pivotally connected at its front edge to said frame at the upper, rear edge of said blade and extending rearwardly from the latter, a vertically disposed bell crank lever pivotally mounted intermediate its length on said frame ahead of said blade, a groundengaging wheel journaled on the lower end of said bell crank lever, a hydraulic expansible chamber device pivotally connected at one end to said frame and at its other end to said scoop for tilting the latter, means connected to said expansible chamber device for supplying hydraulic fluid under pressure thereto, a control valve connected to said expansible chamber device for controlling the admission of hydraulic fluid under pressure thereto and including an outer part and two cooperating inner parts movable relative to each other end to said outer part to provide a follow-up control between said ground-engaging wheels and said scoop, motion transmitting means connected between the upper end of said bell crank lever and one of the inner parts of said control valve, and motion transmitting mechanism connected to the other inner part of said control valve and responsive to tilting movements of said scoop.

BERTON M. MATHIAS.

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