US3061123A

US3061123A - Earth-moving equipment

Info

Publication number: US3061123A
Application number: US4506A
Authority: US
Inventors: George A Rogers
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-01-25
Filing date: 1960-01-25
Publication date: 1962-10-30
Anticipated expiration: 1979-10-30

Description

Oct. 30, 1962 e. A. ROGERS 3,061,123

EARTH-MOVING EQUIPMENT Filed Jan. 25, 1960 s Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTO RN EYS lNVENTOR George A. Ro el B &

Oct. 30, 1962 G. A. ROGERS EARTH-MOVING EQUIPMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan 25, I 1960 a M/ a A.- n. 4 i la F 6 w a a 0 WW 6 u/ z Z 2 INVENTOR Geare A R se -3 BY mm M P Mu. ATTORNEY\5 Oct. 30, 1962 Filed Jan. 25, 1960 G. A. ROGERS EARTH-MOVING EQUIPMENT 55 fSheeis-Sheei 3 INVENTOR Georgi A- j S g ATTORNEYJ Unitcd States Patent 3,061,123 EARTH-MOVING EQUIPMENT George A. Rogers, Pinetown Road, RR. 1, Norristown, Pa.

Filed Jan. 25, 1960, Ser. No. 4,506 13 Claims. (Cl. 214-445) This invention in general relates to earth-moving equipment and in particular relates to such equipment of the type having a power operated shovel or bucket to be moved into the earth for picking up a load of earth, removing and dumping the same on an adjacent area or vehicle.

The invention is especially concerned with improving the efiiciency of use of equipment of the kind in question in very dense or hard earth, such as clay or shale. To that end, the invention contemplates power operated mechanism associated with the bucket operative to put the earth in a loose or frangible condition so that it offers little resistance to penetration by the bucket.

The preferred form of the invention contemplates a power operated claw structurally and functionally interconnected with the bucket to permit the bucket to be used independently of and without interference from the claw, for the claw to be used independently of and without interference from the bucket, and/or the claw and the bucket to be used simultaneously.

The principles of this invention can best be understood by considering the description below together with the drawings wherein:

FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 illustrate three successive stages of the operation of a machine employing this invention to break shale found in a shale bed located at or near the surface of the ground;

FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 illustrate three successive stages of the operation of a machine employing this invention to break into a shale bed found some distance beneath the surface below an overburden of softer material;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation of the bucket linkage system and claw;

FIGURE 8 is a rear elevation of the same assembly;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view of the claw and mounting means, the section being taken along the line 9--9 in FIGURE 7; 7

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view of the claw and mounting means, the section being taken along the line 10-10 of FIGURE 7; and

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view of a modified form of the claw mechanism and the manner of mounting the same.

There are a wide variety of earth-moving machines employing one or more shovels or buckets. However, for purposes of disclosing the invention, the same is illustrated and described in connection with a typical earth-moving machine commonly referred to as a back-hoe, it being understood, of course, that the invention finds utility and may be employed in conjunction with several of the other types of earth moving-apparatus.

Back-hoe type digging machines are widely used for shallow excavating work, especially trench-digging, because of their flexibility and ease of control. While the configuration of various makes of machine differs, the basic principle of operation remains the same: a power driven bucket mounted on the endof a boom (which may be hinged or of a telescoping design), with its dig.- ging edge facing generally toward the base of the machine, is moved downward into the earth, and at the same time is moved toward the base of the machine. This action in effect duplicates the operation of a manually operated hoe in that the cutting or digging edge is forced downward and backward. Both the boom and 3,061,123 Patented Oct. 30., 1962 the bucket are generally powered by hydraulic systems. This form of power, together with the mode of operation, that is, the hoeing action, provide a major advantage over other digging machine designs, in that a large force can be applied to the digging edge of the bucket in a down-and-back direction, although only a small portion of this force need be supplied by the weight of the bucket.

Despite this advantage, back-hoe machines in ordinary sizes have proved inadequate when the digging must be performed in extremely hard forms of earth such as shale o'r sunbaked hardpan. In such situations a preliminary earth breaking operation has been found to be necessary before the back-hoe can be used to remove the earth. This preliminary operation may involve use of pneumatic hammers, dynamite, or special machinery adapted for breaking or loosening the earth. All of these means require extra labor and equipment over and above the back-hoe and its operator. If the excavation required is of any appreciable depth, the operation in many cases will be ineflicient, because either the breaking crew and equipment or the back-hoe and its operator will be in enforced idleness while the other operation is under way. The rate of progress in such a procedure, say in terms of linear feet of a trench five feet deep per day, may drop as low as 45 feet per day, as compared with 300 to 400 feet per day in more tractable earth, or, expressed as a percentage, as low as 10 percent of the normal rate. By the use of this invention, the rate of progress through shale (with the same size equipment) will be as much as feet of trench per day, or 34 to 50 percent of the normal rate, and about three to four times as fast as heretofore possible.

The description following concerns FIGURES 1-6 and only the major structural elements are numbered and discussed. Detailed consideration of the structure of the preferred embodiment will appear later in connection with the description of FIGURES 7-11.

The back-hoe apparatus, indicated generally as 31, is shown mounted on a mobile unit or tractor 32, which provides the power required to operate the back-hoe, and which establishes a fixed base point toward and away from which the back-hoe is moved during its operation. Although a wheeled tractor is shown for this purpose, a back-hoe may be mounted on other apparatus, for example, on a truck, a tracked vehicle, a sled, a railway car, or a barge. The tractor is provided with stabilizers 33, a rearward facing seat 34 for the back-hoe operator, and a set of controls 35 for the back-hoe.

The back-hoe 31 has a support comprising the main boom 36 and outer boom 16 on which is mounted the bucket 12, together with driving linkage L (and other parts which are unnumbered in FIGURES 1-6, but which are shown in detail in FIGURES 7-11). The boom 36 is moved by means of the hydraulic cylinder and piston rod 37; the outer boom 16 is moved by means of the hydraulic cylinder and piston rod 38, and the bucket 12 is moved by means of the hydraulic cylinder 22 and its piston rod 21. The support is movable relative to the mobile unit and as will be explained shortly, positions the bucket so that the bucket can perform its earth-removing function.

In the present embodiment an earth-digging claw 27 is connected with the bucket by being mounted on the linkage L. The shape of the claw is in part dependent upon the shape and size of the bucket 12 employed, and upon the lever system used to power and move the bucket, because it is preferred that the bucket and claw never come in contact with each other. The principal requirement of shape, from the standpoint of the functioning of the invention, is that the claw present an instrumentality capable of digging into and breaking up the earth by being driven in a downward direction and at the same time in a backward direction toward the base of the machine (that is, to the right in FIGURES 1-6). In the particular embodiment disclosed in the drawings the claw is generally of sickle shape. It is preferred that the claw be detachably secured to the bucket so that it may be removed when it is not needed, for instance, when the back-hoe is being used in soft dirt. It is a feature of the invention, however, that the claw will not interfere with the more usual operation of the bucket if it is left in place. Therefore, it is not objectionable that the claw be permanently mounted on the bucket.

In the normal operation of a back-hoe, say in a trenching operation, the digging edge or earth-penetrating tip of the bucket is faced generally downward and backward toward the base of the machine (or to the right in FIGURES 1-6). This initial position of the bucket 12 can be seen in FIGURE 4. The boom 16 (or the entire back-hoe boom system 3 1) on which the bucket 12 is mounted is then manipulated by the hydraulic power system to drive the digging edge of the bucket downward into the earth, and to the right. As the bucket bites out enough earth to substantially fill it, it is rotated (FIGURES 5 and 6) on the end of the boom until its mouth faces upward, thus securing a load of earth in the bucket.

For operating the claw, the bucket 12 and boom '16 are placed in a position similar to that at the beginning of a normal digging stroke. Then, before the bucket touches the earth, the bucket and claw are rotated until the mouth of the bucket faces upward and the point or earth-penetrating tip of the claw faces generally downward and to the right. This initial position is shown in FIGURE 1, in which the claw 27 is poised above a shale bed 39 located at the surface of the ground. Note that in this position the tip of the bucket and the tip of the claw are considerably spaced apart as compared, for example, to their positions as illustrated in FIG- URE 4.

With the claw positioned as shown in FIGURE 1, the boom 16 is then manipulated in a motion essentially the same as that of a normal digging stroke. FIGURE 2 illustrates a position about half-way through a shale breaking stroke, showing the claw 27 being driven downward and to the right into the shale bed 39, leaving the broken shale 40 behind it. During the entire stroke the bucket 12 is maintained in the same relative position. As can be seen in FIGURE 2, the bucket remains above the level of the ground throughout the shale breaking stroke. The basic shale breaking stroke is repeated on the same section of ground as many times as necessary to break up sufficient shale to form a bucket load which can be removed by the back-hoe bucket. In FIG- URE 3 the bucket 12 is shown part way through such a loading stroke. The mouth of the bucket 12 is faced down and to the right; the claw 27 is out of the way behind the bucket; and the bucket is being moved in a scooping motion into the broken shale 40, leaving a cleaned out hole 42 behind it. It can be seen that the movement in which the bucket is loaded with broken shale is essentially the same as a conventional digging stroke.

As the bucket 12 scoops out enough broken shale to substantially fill it, it is rotated about the end of the boom 16 to its mouth-up position, thereby securing a load of shale in it. At the same time the claw 27 is rotated into its operative position and as it is drawn to the right, it partially, at least, breaks [the shale on the next lower level (see, for example, FIGURE 5).

The degree to which the claw and bucket are simultaneously operative can be determined by controlling the relative rotation, for example, by delaying the rotation of the bucket and claw until the very end of the bucket loading stroke.

As will be apparent from the above, when the bucket 12 is rotated into the mouth-up position the claw 27 is also rotated into its operative position. Also, when the bucket is rotated from its mouth-up position to a position with its digging edge downward (the operative position for the bucket at the beginning of a digging stroke), the claw is rotated out of its operative position to a position behind and generally above the bucket, where it is out of the way and will not interfere with the usual operation of the bucket. Thus, it will be seen that the claw and bucket may be used independently of one another or may be used simultaneously.

In the sequence of views, FIGURES 4-6, showing the operation of this invention upon a shale bed found beneath an overburden, FIGURE 4 shows the bucket 12 (and claw 27) in position at the beginning of the first normal digging stroke. The overburden 43 (indicated by cross-hatching) is removed by a number of such digging strokes. In FIGURE 5, the overburden 43 is being removed, exposing the shale bed 39 and the claw 27, being in its operative position, is digging into and breaking up the shale 39, leaving broken shale 40 behind it. In FIGURE 6 which shows the end of the movement illustrated in FIGURE 5, the bucket 12 is being lifted to the surface, filled with dirt. The portion of the FIG- URE in broken lines shows the apparatus in the unloading position where dirt has been dumped into an awaiting vehicle or on the adjacent ground.

The claw, when utilized in the manner described heretofore is highly effective as a shale breaker because the force which the back-hoe power system can apply to the shale in a downward and backward direction is concentrated in the relatively small area of the point of the claw. The maximum pressure which can be applied to the shale by the claw will be greater than the maximum pressure which can be applied to the shale by the bucket by a factor equal to the ratio of the area of the penetrating edge of the bucket to the area of the penetrating edge of the claw. Thus, it can be seen that the claw utilizes the chief advantage of the back-hoe type of machine over other digging equipment, that of providing a large force in a downward and backward direction, by concentrating its application in a small area.

It has been found that in many shale beds the shale, when brought under the pressure of the tooth, will break up into fairly large pieces. A single claw driven through a shale bed with this property will break a path several times its own width. As a consequence, a relatively small number of clawing strokes would be required to break enough shale for the bucket to load. In some types of shale, however, the path broken by a single claw may be more nearly the mere width of the claw. In such a case, with a single claw, more clawing strokes for each loading stroke would be required. A multiple-claw arrangement of the invention may be used in shale beds of the latter type.

The manner in which the bucket and claw are mounted and rotated in the present embodiment will be described following:

In FIGURES 7 and 8 the bucket 12 is shown, with a digging or earth-penetrating tip 13, upon which is mounted a number of projections 14, each of which is provided with a replaceable wear tooth 15. The bucket has an earth-carrying wall 12a. A link 17 comprising the parts 17a and 17b is welded to one edge of the bucket and to the wall 12a and carries nut and bolt assembly 17c which forms a pivot connection with the boom 16. The bucket is adapted to be rotated about the pivot 170. The bucket also has a link 18 comprising parts 18a and 18b welded to the wall 12a, each carrying a bolt respectively secured to the link 19 comprising the

parts

19a and 19b. The link 19 may alternately be attached to the link 18 at the points 20. The ends of the

parts

19a and 19b are attached to a rod 21, which in the embodiment shown is also the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 22 (see FIG- sperms URES 1-6). The attachment of the

parts

19a and 19b to the rod 21 is by means of the bolt 23. It has been found that this bolt should preferably be of medium hard steel because it withstands the shocks incident to a shale breaking operation better than a case hardened bolt. The link 19, and the rod 21 are connected to the boom 16 by means of the intermediate link 24 comprising

parts

24a and 24b. These links are attached to the boom 16 with the bolt 25 and to the link 19 and the rod 21 with the bolt 23. The

bolts

17c, 18c, 23 and 25 are each of a size which permits the various parts through which they are passed to rotate with respect to each other about the axis of the bolt; in other words, the bolts form pivots in the linkage system.

Between the

links

19a and 19b there is welded a hollow socket member 26. This socket is made up of four heavy metal walls attached together, for example by welding, to form a long passage of generally rectangular cross section, with the axis of the passage generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the link 19. Into this socket is inserted the shank 27a of the claw 27, the shank 27a being sized and shaped to fit into the socket 26. The walls of the socket 26 and the shank 27a of the claw 27 are provided with holes through which the bolt 28 is passed, thereby removab-ly securing the claw 27 in position on the link 19. I

The claw has a blade portion 27b terminating in a point 270 upon which is mounted a wear tooth 29. The wear tooth 29 is the same size and shape as the wear teeth mounted on the bucket, and serves a similar function.

It will be observed that the cylinder 22 is secured to the boom 16 by means of pivot structure 22a which permits the cylinder 22 and the rod 21 to swing or rotate relative to the boom. The cylinder is adapted to be supplied with fluid so that the rod may be moved back and forth in the cylinder or reciprocated relative to the boom 16 With reference to FIGURE 7 it will be observed that if the rod 21 is moved downwardly (in the direction of the arrows A) the link 24 will be rotated counter-clock: wise about the pivot 25; the link 19 will be rotated counter-clockwise with respect to the boom 16; the bucket 12 will be rotated counter-clockwise about the pivot 17c and the claw 27 will be rotated counter-clockwise with respect to the boom. With motion of the rod 21 upwardly (in the direction of the arrows B) the above-mentioned elements will be rotated in the opposite direction. In either case the rotation of the

links

19 and 24 is accommodated by virtue of the pivot 22a permitting the rod 21 to swing or rotate relative to the boom.

From the above description and also the earlier description in connection with FIGURES 1-6, it will be apparent that movement of the rod in the direction of the arrows A will cause the bucket and the claw to be relatively related so that the earth-penetrating tips of the claw and the bucket separate from one another, whereas movement of the rod in the direction of the arrows B will effect a rotation of the claw and bucket so that the tips move closer together. When the claw and bucket are relatively close together the claw is in position for the bucket to perform its normal earth-removing function without interference from the claw and when the claw and bucket are relatively far apart, the claw is in position to perform its normal earth-breaking function without interference from the bucket.

The multi-claw configuration shown in FIGURE 11 is provided with two outboard sockets 26', two claws 27' disposed therein together with a securing bolt 28'. The claws 27' are substantially the same as the claw 27 in FIGURES 7-l0, and serve the same function, although they are shown as having a somewhat smaller thickness.

By considering together FIGURES 9 and 11, it can readily be seen that the link 19 can have mounted upon it a central socket, such as 26, and two outboard sockets 6 such as 26'. With this arrangement, one, two, three or no claws may be mounted at one time, thus providing great flexibility of configuration in one unit.

I claim:

1. In earth-moving equipment having a mobile unit and a support constructed to carry an earth-removing bucket and having connections with said unit providing for the support to be movable relative to the unit for positioning the bucket to perform its earth-removing function: an earth-removing bucket having an earth-penetr'ab ing tip pivotally connected with said support for rotation relative thereto; an earth-digging claw having an earth-penetrating tip pivotally connected with said bucket for rotation relative thereto; means including a movable drive element movable in opposite directions and connected between said claw and said bucket and constructed to rotate the claw and bucket with their respective tips moving toward one another when the drive element is moving in one direction and to rotate the claw and bucket with their respective tips moving away from one another when the drive element is moving in the opposite direction; and means connected with said support to move said drive element.

2. In earth-moving equipment having a mobile unit and a support constructed to carry an earth-removing bucket and having connections with said unit providing for the support to be movable relative to the unit for positioning the bucket to perform its earth-removing function: an earth-rernoving bucket having an earth-penetrating tip; mechanism including a pivot means connecting said support and said bucket and providing for rotary motion of the bucket relative to the support; an earth-digging claw having an earth-penetrating tip; mechanism including pivot means connecting said claw and said bucket and providing for rotary motion of the claw relative to the bucket; and drive mechanism having common connections with said claw and said bucket for rotating the same, the drive mechanism having a movable element movable in opposite directions and when the element is moving in one direction said tips move relatively apart and when the element is moving in the opposite direction said tips move relatively together.

3. In earth-moving equipment having a mobile unit and a support constructed to carry an earth-removing bucket and having connections with said unit providing for the support to be movable relative to the unit for positioning the bucket to perform its earth-removing function: an earth-removing bucket having an earth-penetrating tip; means including a pivot connecting said support and said bucket and providing for rotary movement of the bucket relative to the support; a power drive element; means connecting said power drive element with said support and providing for the drive element to have a reciprocating translatory motion and a rotary motion with respect to said support; mechanism including pivot means interconnecting said drive element and said bucket; and an earth-digging claw having an earth-penetrating tip pivotally connected with said bucket for rotation relative thereto; means connecting said claw to said drive element to be movable therewith, rotary motion and translatory motion of said drive element causing movement of said bucket and said claw, when the translatory motion is in one direction, the tips moving relatively apart and, when translatory motion is in the opposite direction, the tips moving relatively together.

4. In earth-moving equipment having a mobile unit and a boom constructed to carry an earth-removing bucket and having connections with said unit providing for the boom to be movable relative to the unit for positioning the bucket to perform its earth-removing function; an earth-removing bucket having an earth-penetrating tip; mechanism including pivot means connecting said boom and said bucket and providing rotary motion of the bucket relative to the boom; a cylinder and a piston; mechanism including pivot means connecting said cylinder to said boom; mechanism including pivot means connecting said piston to said bucket; an earth-digging claw having an earth-penetrating tip; and mechanism including last said pivot means interconnecting said claw with said bucket, the pivot means providing for rotary motion of the claw relative to the bucket.

5. In earth-moving equipment having a mobile unit and a boom constructed to carry an earth-removing bucket and having connections with said unit providing for the boom to be movable relative to the unit for positioning the bucket to perform its earth-removing function: an earth-removing bucket; a piston and a cylinder, the cylinder being pivotally connected to said boom; a first link pivotally connected to said boom at a point adjacent its end and connected to said bucket; a second link pivotally connected to said bucket and connected to said piston; and an earth-digging claw connected to said second link.

6. In earth-moving equipment having a mobile unit and a boom constructed to carry an earth-removing bucket and having connections with said unit providing for the boom to be movable relative to the unit for positioning the bucket to perform its earth-removing function: an earth-removing bucket pivotally connected adjacent one end of said boom; a piston and a cylinder, the cylinder being pivotally connected to said boom; a first link pivotally connected to said piston and to said boom at a point adjacent said one end; a second link pivotally connected to said bucket and to said piston; and an earth-digging claw mounted on said second link.

7. In earth-moving equipment having a mobile unit and a boom constructed to carry an earth-removing bucket and having connections with said unit providing for the boom to be movable relative to the unit for positioning the bucket to perform its earth-removing function: an earth-removing bucket pivotally connected to said boom; a cylinder and a piston, the cylinder being pivotally connected to said boom; a first link, one end of which is pivotally connected to said piston and the other end pivotally connected to said boom; a second link, one end of which is pivotally connected to said piston and the other end pivotally connected to said bucket, the second link being formed with a socket; and an earth-digging claw having a shank portion disposed in said socket.

8. A construction in accordance with claim 7 wherein said claw is removably mounted in said socket.

9. In earth-moving equipment having a mobile unit and a boom constructed to carry an earth-removing bucket and having connections with said unit providing for the boom to be movable relative to the unit for positioning the bucket .to perform its earth-removing function: a bucket pivotally connected to said boom; a cylinder and a piston, the cylinder being pivotally connected to said boom; a first link, one end of which is pivotally connected to said piston and the other end pivotally connected to said boom; a second link, one end of which is pivotally connected to said piston and the other end pivotally connected to said bucket, the second link being formed with a pair of sockets; and a pair of earth-digging claws each having shank portions respectively disposed in said sockets.

10. A construction in accordance with claim 9 wherein said claws are removably mounted in said sockets.

11. In earth-moving equipment having a mobile unit and a boom constructed to carry an earth-removing bucket and having connections with said unit providing for the boom to be movable relative to the unit for positioning the bucket to perform its earth-removing function; an earth-removing bucket having an earth-carrying wall, the wall carrying a pivot connected to said boom; movable bucket driving linkage interconnected between said boom and said bucket; an earth-digging claw connected with said linkage and movable therewith; and means interconnected between said linkage and said boom for applying a force to said linkage for moving the claw and the bucket relative to each other.

12. In earth-moving equipment having a mobile unit and a boom constructed to carry an earth-removing bucket and having connections with said unit providing for the boom to be movable relative to the unit for positioning the bucket to perform its earth-removing function: a bucket pivotally connected to said boom; a cylinder and a piston, the cylinder being pivotally connected to said boom; a first link, one end of which is pivotally connected to said piston and the other end pivotally connected to said boom; a second link, one end of which is pivotally connected to said piston and the other end pivotally connected to said bucket, the second link being formed with a plurality of sockets; and a plurality of earth-digging claws each having shank portions respectively disposed in said sockets.

13. A construction in accordance with claim 12 wherein said claws are removably mounted in said sockets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,765,892 Wagner June 24, 1930 2,279,869 Houston Apr. 14, 1942 2,339,518 Reisser Jan. 18, 1944 2,455,474 Drott Dec. 7, 1948 2,813,645 Pilch Nov. 19, 1957 2,869,257 Braukly Jan. 20, 1959