US2734292A

US2734292A - Dozer-blade mounting

Info

Publication number: US2734292A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1956-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 1973-02-14

Description

Feb. 14, 1956 L. T. GRAVES DOZER-BLADE MOUNTING 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 27, 1950 w m m m L. T Graves Feb. 14, 1956 T. GRAVES 2,734,292

DOZER-BLADE MOUNTING Filed Dec. 27, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

Feb; 14, 1956 GRAVES 2,734,292

DOZER-BLADE MOUNTING Fi d Dec. 27, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 l9 o (02! Ql 2 u N N I INVENTOR. L Graves Feb. 14, 1956 L. T. GRAVES 2,734,292

DOZER-BLADE MOUNTING Filed Dec. 27, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 ll lh i i I\ INVENTOR. E L. Graves L. T. GRAVES DOZEIR-BLADE MOUNTING Feb. 14. 1956 Filed Dec.

United States Pate-nt Q "ice 43.43% DOZER-BLADEQ-MQ 5 l yd, hur an ra es Nhrthl Ya mh qn. ri sh 1 lnrnbia'; Canada, a si iiorerone-nelr to vyiuiam mayf lit t tl veh .hiT FlfiI fiil i h pp c tioa December sstl gii 2 9? 1. 1am. 9 5 451 This invention relate s to a doz er-blade mounting, and or si jehlenemasme e ?.at e hh me ihg which enables 'th' bl'adc" tobe'" easilyj 'andi qliickly located in selected settings within a wide range er adjust rririficbrhbfe'h'e'nding' (1) angling of the blade about a vertical'l'agiisin either direction ffofi'anor'mal centered position, 2)"tilting' of the bladeab'o'iit a'hdriidntal axis" in eithe i direction 'from"a"ndrrnalcehtered position, (3) bodil'y"vertica1"movenient;' and '(4) eoiri' oundsef these described motions;

It is'a further and particular object to provide, in conjunction with a 'dozer blade of'this' nature, power-driven devices 'for' nioving'the blade into: said adjusted positions and controlled from a position. conveniently accessible toan operator drivingfa tractoporother like vehicleto which the dozer blade "is attached.

It is as'till'further object to provide, a structure in which the dozer bladetakesits supportfrorn asvving-frame piv; otally attached to the tractor; andhaving meansin association with suchswingframe capahle of so'resisting torsional forces passed from theblade into the frarneas to positively safeguard the frame against liability of tvvist',

The foregoing and other stillrnore particular objects and advantages in vievv A will appeafindbe undei'stoodgin the fqllovving description a ndclain s, the riventioifi con sisting inithe novelc anwflm" if d a h e hhq 'n -i' blade "constructed in acordanceyvith the p ings of the present invention.

s i x e, Tertieal e t n on line 5.5 of; 55 Figs; I H

i th h htshtev hh hhq he v ish ?9 on large d 031 line 8 8 of 2,734,292 P e tented Feb. 14, 1956 o. or ray; f h type. s l ved iPeta i he shit lhs t t df h s's hs'd ve hs pr i t fqh' fer, L tters, atentv i h liUh eslz thtefil d ay 9, 9; 51 159,311, Cursorily considered," said tractor provides a rriain frame including spaced-apart longitudinal sidepjr i n-i pa si mm; n h t h te eyij flasks 18 arr ed by r wlhrz rh lhee 9 hhh re hdv he s tly i Il d or os ll to hht sh vqt serihe fhl; prdvided 'ateach side of 'the main framfe,th;ese pivot he rin s hih f h thdm re hr' e l tr f h he ll eh hi tth fi awls ramh h s. hr sh hrha te vntqi r s s, mpa ative i h h hh hlhwi t IQRF- i sihe 2 d le 9 1 9 tth e i hih htlh P e t; rehhhn htd t e i y. he h plis fih hhtt he. t q' hle em hhfi n; i h wi hh 1 s i d ha e eam i hh de he h l t tr k t s h tr hlsh. at esir ble, w' m l a rt e ss win hmh hh tsi h inside f. h rhwl rm r i 'he Clearance is perforce vital to such a location. The swing framewhich I, prefer to employ is o e employing jajlo'n hhd h he hih h twhrd y hf he hhh a hl. hsithhihh im ti eh h 'i t he s q hem thheher; 5 having ts T nds. pivothlly iqh he ed i i p h rhlqqk 5; anfdfifi bolted to the underside of the main frame principals Lfih llh e tive S?- he free hd tthe w ale ends hes en t e. r n nd mi h lthe a ks. helrh reelfize ly i e h re h- Ehhh ti s hr hemeseh e t hsset flht hihh h hf h lh n l s! he rse' ehs atT- h e nrlhhhhhfis ih with h rhs hlehir DEKQTPRQF? t lh T l n I9 he .'9 l. l l hm: Phs d; by efsrhhhe of P a h-sm e he fi i t h xtcn ..re rw ly n e bh th'dinh m d a heqfthel WiI EZ ZI a di m is t y hd t'm mhe o eh: t. 29th. n s. ith. ts, nt d fit e x h'a 91s. Wh h: pie e hh thhe hm h h s. Qf theme hdha ly the plate 3 1-, cylinder member 32,, and'thegussets 3 0, a r e integrally COHHCCt EdLbY Weld; joints, and also-made an; nte fhlipiart ft is ree s a en ra y pl sedrrhisctihh. 3ft; 'risingfromtheplate 31 and suitably reinforced at the p t vh e cal h' At itS PPF n this proiectiqa presents aforwardly projecting transversely sloped flange 'ndi hr t h' n e ich w l hh h einafte sh h i h flange has a h nqhh ih b 6 wel e v hhtetqt he on of e. w n ram s h h idh thwh he ross flt hda ht h re zv with. heq mr Patie t of, he tree, 'wh d hs o d t h 'whh s i i i tsvhe on u is hm s h pipeh s. ,0 end-4. extending diagonally inwardly from the-cross-baridto the o emhmhe 1 h a WQ 1 t t h i fi ehdih fr mv said, ss-b t h li d ca e 2 ant yin parallel to one? another at opposite sides- 01115116: latter: A hyd aulic nde 4 "w be e n hese 'hi lw q haveits axis coincide with that of the cylindricalleg, and; received in this hydraulic cylinder is 'a doube-acting rant coupled by a connecting rod to a pipe 4M6, fi tterl for 'ccting l demhrh ahht n he. 2 o i dii P.PiR,P., l byits front endtorwardlyvyell beyond the leg,

At t e front end of, the tractor thereis erected, from 39 11 t t qj remh P n p 's 6 3 1 4 17 h' iie i superstructure, as 4 7 and 48, and occupying an overhead position vvithitsends journaled in post; elements provided: by these superstructures there is provideda tr nsverse rock-shaft 5Q; Ivvin lever arms 51 and'52 are well d the rock-shaft at opposite sides of the mngmmmn diam line of the tractor to ha vctheir firecn'dS' ext; forwardly intooverhangirig relation to thetree, andfe tending downwardly fr'oiridhesefre ends tohnderl ears and"54,' Which are Welded to metres "cross ber'3 1 there aieprovided co f" V respectively, One end. of th rock-shaft protrudeslalt arm 57 attached by a connecting rod 58 to a doubleacting hydraulic ram, the ram working in a pivotallymounted cylinder 59. The two

lever arms

51 and 52 each serve in conjunction with the power arm 57 to produce a substantial bell-crank, and it will be apparent that the use of two such bell-cranks, in complement with the two tierods, effectively stiffens the swing-frame against liability of torsional twist.

The dozer blade is provided with rigid

horizontal backing ribs

60 and 61 disposed in parallel spaced relation and each comprising a piece of plate stock welded by an edge to the blade. On the substantial minor axis of the blade and equidistantly spaced therefrom toward each side edge of the blade the two ribs are vertically pierced with sets of registering holes operating to receive headed kingpins, as 62, 63 and 64. The center king-pin 62 is arranged to establish a pivot connection from the dozer blade to the projecting end of the pipe 46, and for this purpose there is welded as a cross-arm upon the head of the pipe a through bored knuckle 65 of a length to fit more or less snugly between the

ribs

60 and 61. The king-

pins

63 and 64 each act to pivotally engage the arms of a respective clevis 66 (see Fig. 6). These clevises project rearwardly beyond the exposed edges of the backing ribs and bear by their back faces against pads 67 which are pivotally attached by king-pins 68 to the cross-member 31 of the tree, the kingpins being received through bearing blocks 70 welded as integral adjuncts of said cross-member. From the pad 67 yoke-arms 71 extend forwardly along opposite sides of the related clevis 66, and traversing these yoke-arms 71 to confine the cross-arm 69 of the clevis is a horizontal shackle-bolt 72 screwed or otherwise held in place and removable at will to free the clevis from the restraining yoke-arms 71. As will perhaps be best seen from an inspection of Fig. 4 the span from the upper to the lower leg of the clevis 66 is comparatively wide so as to leave the shackle-bolt 72 relatively unfettered insofar as vertical play is concerned and thus permit the dozer blade to be pivoted about the center of the pipe 46 as an axis into positions tilted with respect to the swing-frame. Also signifi cant in respect of such tilting action is the fact that the vertical cross-arm 69 of the clevis is given a greater width than the width of the two horizontal legs whereby to maintain an assured clearance between the legs and the yoke arms 71 and preclude the former from hanging up as the clevis moves vertically relative to the pad.

For accomplishing the tilting motion of the blade a surmounting boss 73 is welded or otherwise integrally secured to the backing rib 60 to occupy a position adjacent a sideedge limit of the blade, and journaled for swivel movement in this boss 73 is a knuckle 74. A complementing knuckle 75 is similarly swivel-mounted in the boss 36 which surmounts the forwardly projecting flange 35 of the projection 34. Attached by a pivot pin 76 to one of these knuckles, say the knuckle 74, is the connecting rod 77 of a double-acting ram, and a hydraulic cylinder 78 in which this ram works is connected by a pivot pin 80 to the other knuckle 75.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that there are three double-acting hydraulic rams each functional upon the dozer blade. One of these rams, and namely the ram working in the cylinder 78, performs the described tilting action. A second said ram, and namely the ram working in the cylinder 59, acts through the twin bellcranks to raise and lower the swing-frame which, perforce, raises and lowers the blade bodily. The third ram, and namely the ram working in the cylinder 44, acts through the pipe 46 to move the main knuckle connection 65 of the dozer blade directively toward and from the swingframe. Forward motion given to this knuckle-joint is per formed only when one or the other of the two shacklebolts 72 have been first removed, whereupon the blade, having its other end still shackled to the swing-frame, will swing about this shackle connection as a fulcrum and locate itself diagonal to the longitudinal median line of the tractor. While it is eminently desirable to employ hy- 4 a draulic energy in angling the dozer blade about either of said end shackles as a fulcrum, the hydraulic ram which performs this operation can be dispensed with, in which case the work of moving the blade about its end shackle as a fulcrum is performed by lowering the blade onto the ground and inching the tractor either forwardly or backwardly as the desired blade movement dictates. In the absence of the hydraulic lock which the ram provides, the blade is or may be suitably fixed at selected variable degrees of angularity by having the pipe pierced with a series of longitudinally spaced holes, and in the cylindrical leg 32 which forms a journal for such pipe providing diametrically opposite circumferentially extending slots with which the holes may be selectively brought into register, then dropping an anchoring pin through the registering openings. The purpose of the slots, as distinguished from a round hole, is to enable the pipe and its anchoring pin to swivel in compensation of tilting movements given to the dozer blade.

The two ports through which fluid under pressure is fed to the ends of the respective hydraulic cylinders are connected by flexible hoses, as 81-82, 83--84, and 85-86, with the valved chests of a control box 87, and this control box may be advantageously mounted upon a bracket 88 secured to one of the two superstructures to occupy a position at the side of the tractor opposite the hydraulic cylinder 59. The hydraulic fluid may be either air or oil, the latter by preference, and such fluid is supplied under pressure to the valve chests from a pump or the like (not shown) driven by the engine of the tractor. The circuit and the arrangement of the control valves being such, upon a centering of the valves, as to enable the related rams to be held in selected positions by producing a hydraulic lock. Control handles 89, 90 and 91 conveniently accessible to the operator of the tractor are operatively connected with the

valves

92, 93 and 94, respectively, of the three chests.

It is thought that the invention and the manner of its operation will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed description of the now preferred embodiment of my invention. Minor changes in the details of construction will largely suggest themselves and it is my intention that no limitations be implied and that the hereto annexed claims be given a scope fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation to which the employed language admits.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a tractor, and a dozer blade therefor, a longitudinally disposed cylinder member firmly supported by the tractor to occupy a laterally centered position at the front end thereof, a stud journaled for endwise sliding movement in the bore of the cylinder and provided upon its front end with an exposed knuckle, a king-pin connecting said knuckle with the blade, a pair of individually releasable connecting couples between the blade and means carried by the tractor oppositely laterally removed from the knuckle and functioning as selective fulcrums about which the blade swings as the knuckle is advanced or retracted longitudinally of the tractor by endwise movement given to the stud, and means for setting said stud at selected points within the limits of its slide movement, each of said connecting couples including a clevis, a connecting member providing a pad at one end having a pair of yoke arms extending from its inner end and located at opposite sides of the clevis, a removable shackle bolt extending through said yoke arms and between the legs of the clevis, and king pins connecting the free ends of the legs of the clevis and the outer end of the connecting member to the dozer blade and the means carried by the tractor, respectively.

2. A mounting for a dozer blade comprising, in combination with a supporting frame, an open-front cylinder member rigidly secured to the frame to locate its axis on the longitudinal median line of the frame, a stud receiving a slide and rotary journal in said cylinder member and projecting forwardly therefrom, said stud being provided at the front end with a rigid vertically bored head, means fixed to the back of the blade and acting in complement with the head of the stud and an associated king-pin to establish a knuckle joint between the blade and the stud, hitch connections between the blade and the frame laterally spaced from opposite sides of the knuckle joint, and means adjustable as to length and extending as a tie from a frame-carried projection overlying the knuckle joint to a blade-carried fitting laterally offset from the knuckle joint, means being provided for setting the stud at selected adjusted positions within prescribed limits of its permited slide movement within the cylinder member.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which the distance between the legs of the clevis appreciably exceeds the diameter of the shackle bolt.

4. The structure of claim 1 in which the width of the legs of the clevis is less than the width of the cross-arm portion of the clevis.

5. In combination with a tractor, and a dozer blade therefor, a rigid swing-frame received between the traction processes of the tractor with its inner end supported by the tractor for vertical swinging movement of the free outer end about said inner end as an axis and with said free end projecting forwardly beyond the front end of the tractor, a cylinder rigidly supported by said swingframe to locate its axis on the longitudinal median line of the tractor, a piston received for endwise sliding movement in the cylinder, a piston rod connected with the piston and extending forwardly therefrom beyond the front-end limit of the swing-frame and upon its front end carrying an exposed knuckle which is mounted for swivel movement about an axis which is fixed with respect to the swing frame in the approximate longitudinal median plane of the tractor, a king-pin connecting said knuckle with the blade, manually controlled powerdriven means receiving support from the tractor and operatively interconnected with said free end for raising and lowering the swing-frame, a pair of individually releasable connecting couples between the blade and the swing-frame laterally removed to opposite sides from the knuckle and functioning as a selective fulcrum about which the blade swings as the knuckle is advanced or retracted longitudinally of the tractor by endwise movement given to the piston, means for tilting the blade in a vertical direction about the swivel axis of the knuckle and characterized in that one part of said means is connected to the blade and another part thereof is mounted for co-incident vertical movement with the swingframe, and means for setting said piston at selected points within the limits of its slide movement.

6. In combination with a tractor, and a dozer blade therefor, a rigid swing-frame received between the traction processes of the tractor with its inner end supported by the tractor for vertical swinging movement of the free outer end about said inner end as an axis and with said free end projecting forwardly beyond the front end of the tractor, a cylinder rigidly supported by said swingframe to locate its axis on the longitudinal median line of the tractor, a piston received for endwise sliding movement in the cylinder, a piston rod connected with the piston and extending forwardly therefrom beyond the front-end limit of the swing-frame and upon its front end carrying an exposed knuckle which is mounted for swivel movement about an axis which is fixed with respect to the swing frame in the approximate longitudinal median plane of the tractor, a king-ping connecting said knuckle with the blade, manually controlled power-driven means receiving support from the tractor and operatively interconnected with said free end for raising and lowering the swing-frame, a. pair of individually releasable connecting couples between the blade and the swing-frame laterally removed to opposite sides from the knuckle and functioning as a selective fulcrum about which the blade swings as the knuckle is advanced or retracted longitudinally of the tractor by endwise movement given to the piston, and means for tilting the blade in a vertical direction about the swivel axis of the knuckle and characterized in that one part of said means is connected to the blade and another part thereof is mounted for co-incident vertical movement with the swing-frame.

7. In combination with a tractor, and a dozer blade therefor, a rigid swing-frame received between the traction processes of the tractor with its inner end supported by the tractor for vertical swinging movement of the free outer end about said inner end as an axis and with said free end projecting forwardly beyond the front end of the tractor, a knuckle arranged to lie to the front of the swing-frame and journal-mounted from the latter for fore-and-aft-movement on the longitudinal median line of the tractor and also for swivel movement about said median line as an axis, means for moving said knuckle to selected adjusted positions within the limits of its permitted fore-and-aft movement, a king-pin connecting said knuckle with the blade, manually-controlled power-driven means receiving support from the tractor and operatively interconnected with said free end of the swing-frame for raising and lowering the latter, a pair of individually releasable connecting couples between the blade and the swing-frame laterally removed to opposite sides from the knuckle and functioning as a selective fulcrum about which the blade swings as the knuckle is advanced or retracted longitudinally of the tractor, and means for tilting the blade in a vertical direction about the swivel axis of the knuckle and characterized in that one part of said means is connected to the blade and another part thereof is mounted for co-incident vertical movement with the swing-frame.

8. In combination. with a tractor, and a dozer blade therefor, a rigid swing-frame having its inner end pivotally supported by the tractor for vertical swing movement of the free outer end about said inner end as an axis and with said free end projecting forwardly beyond the front end of the tractor, a knuckle arranged to lie to the front of the swing-frame and journal-mounted from the latter for fore-and-aft movement in the longitudinal median plane of the tractor and also for swivel movement about an axis which is fixed with respect to the swing-frame in said median plane, means for moving said knuckle to selected adjusted positions within the limits of its permitted fore-and-aft movement, a king-pin connecting said knuckle with the blade, manually-controlled power-driven means receiving support from the tractor and operatively interconnected with said free end of the swing-frame for raising and lowering the latter, a pair of individually releasable connection couples between the blade and the swing-frame laterally removed to opposite sides from the knuckle and functioning as a selective fulcrum about which the blade swings as the knuckle is advanced or retracted longitudinally of the tractor, and means for tilting the blade in a vertical direction about the swivel axis of the knuckle and characterized in that one part of said means is connected to the blade and another part thereof is mounted for co-incident vertical movement with the swing-frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,713,030 Cummings May 14, 1929 1,976,597 Bird Oct. 9, 1934 2,075,482 Thorpe Mar. 30, 1937 2,160,596 LeBleu May 30, 1939 2,205,588 Arndt June 25, 1940 2,224,725 Felt Dec. 10, 1940 2,348,796 Ferwerda et al May 16, 1944 2,429,506 Austin Oct. 21, 1947 2,611,196 Barrett et al Sept. 23, 1952