US3314175A

US3314175A - Earth scraper

Info

Publication number: US3314175A
Application number: US572282A
Authority: US
Inventors: Reed C Petty; Curtis M Figg
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-08-15
Filing date: 1966-08-15
Publication date: 1967-04-18
Anticipated expiration: 1984-04-18

Description

April 13, 1967 R. c. PETTY 'ETAL 3,314,175

EARTH SCRAPER Filed Aug. 15, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet l GEAR 50X INVENTORS REED C. PE T'TY CURTIS M. F166 ATTORNEY April 18, 1967 R. c. PETTY ETAL 3,314,175

' EARTH SCRAPER Filed Aug. 15, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 BYMZMA T )MM/ A TTOIZN EV April 18, 1957 R. c. PETTY ETAL 3,314,175

EARTH SCRAPER Filed Aug. 15, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR5 REED C. PET V CUQTIS M. FIG-3G A! TORN EY United States Patent 3,314,175 EARTH 'SCRAPER Reed C. Petty, Van Nuys, and Curtis M. Figg, La Canada, Calif.; said Figg assignor to said Petty and Helen de Francia C. Petty, both of Van Nuys, Calif.

Filed Aug. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 572,282 2 Claims. (Cl. 37-108) This application is a continuation-in-part of our previous application Ser. No. 300,444 filed Aug. 7, 1963, for Earth Scraper, and now abandoned.

This invention relates in general to earth moving equipment and especially to equipment adapted to separate earth substance from its place in situ and move it to another place as a continuous flow of material, in counterdistinction to batch removal,

The plow disc of the prior art elevating grader era simply travels along at the towing vehicle speed, shearing the material and rolling it over onto a belt.

Modern earth moving equipment is much more refined than this prior equipment, but the greater majority of earth moving equipment still remains of the scoop-batch classification. Huge vehicles are employed which have bottom openings capable of dropping down, gouging the earth and causing the material to force itself along the scoop edge upwardly into the hopper of the vehicle until full. Such equipment is then moved to the new location, thus requiring extreme power availability for loading, which power is sometimes far less efliciently employed as the batch of material is then transported to its new location.

Other various types of equipment are employed for specific purposes, some of which are ideally adapted to their particular function, and some of which are not.

More modernly, a disintegrating machine 'having cutting and impact action, as described in US. Patent 2,062,232 has been devised for stripping the wearing course 0E of a pavement. It consists essentially of a drum carrying a plurality of lugs which cut away pavement chips, and the chips are then plowed away by a blade.

Another pavement tool is shown in US. Patent 3,072,391. This later structure provides for a plurality of closely spaced cutter members pivotally mounted on a shaft, and means to revolve the shaft around a central horizontal axis. The individual cutter members chip away the asphalt pavement cover. Aconveyor is placed laterally of the cutter members to carry away the material, The cutters and conveyor are carried on a common carriage, which is in the form of a shroud to protect workmen. As the shroud is lowered, the cutters dig deeper into the surface, and the conveyor goes along in a fixed relationship.

This invention is directed to earth removal and is intended to provide high speed removal and re-deposit of earthy material by the divot principle. That is, by severing and propelling earth from its place and causing it to move to a remote location by lifting free of the earth and assume a trajectory path to a target. A divot is severed from its support and projected a distance to a conveyor target.

According to this invention, there is provided a plurality of small earth working implements with a variable speed of implement movement about a peripheral path, either forward or reverse, and independent of the speed of the vehicle or frame carrying the implements. The

"ice

implements may be mounted on a drum or link belt structure and preferably are provided with means to elevate the path of travel with respect to the material being attacked.

In handling of some material, the direction of rotation will be in the direction of the vehicle employed to carry the implements, and in other material, it will be in the reverse direction. This will enable the selection of a striking velocity of the implements suitable to the particular material to be removed and transported. Furthermore, spikes or other suitable configurations of cutting, crushing, and shattering tools are employed along with earth scoops as such implements. Thus, this invention permits tailoring the striking velocity and form of implements to fit a specific need, material by material, area by area, even to the extent of a change in conditions for each foot of travel of the supporting frame. For example, it sometimes occurs that the operation in proceeding in sandy material, and suddenly sandstone is encountered. Immediately, the carrying vehicle of this invention may be slowed and a striking velocity of the device carrying the implements increased.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to remove earth from its location in relatively small discrete quantities as compared to the total per hour capacity of the device, and to transfer the material thus removed to a transport means for a continuous process of earth movement and removal.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an earth moving device adapted to impact against the earth portion to be removed and thus cause a rapid erosion of the material.

A further object of the invention is to provide equipment to move large quantities of material in a minimum of time.

A further object of the invention is to provide an earth moving device having a blade carriage in which the carriage has a link connecting the carriage to the frame of the vehicle carrying the carriage in order that the carriage may be raised and lowered through an arcuate path and held by the mobile frame against the impact forces created in divot separation of earth from its place.

A further object of the invention is to hang the blade carriage by separate hydraulic support means located at opposite sides of the carriage axis in order that the carriage may be adjusted in its attitude with respect to the work being worked, regardless of the attitude of the mobile frame which supports the carriage.

A still further object of the invention is to tie together the target conveyor and the blade carriage by a link which causes the conveyor to change its angular relationship with respect to the flying divots as the blade carriage is elevated and/ or tilted with respect to the earths surface.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a motor and variable speed transmission drive for the blade carriage in order that the speed of the cutting blade may be geared directly to the type of cutting being encountered during work operations.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, a preferred form of the present invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view of a mobile frame adapted for being towed behind a prime mover, with a preferred embodiment of means for carrying earth cutting implements or utensils in a peripheral path with respect to the earths surface.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the device illustrated in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the device of FIGURE 1 as viewed substantially from the line 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation view of a self-powered mobile frame embodying the principles of this invention.

FIGURE 5 is a detail illustration of a conveyor system as taken substantially along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 7 is a detail illustration of one arrangement of a drum and conveyor earth moving combination.

FIGURE 8 is an alternative embodiment for reverse direction of operation.

- FIGURE 9 is a detail illustrating the arrangement of an implement on the surface of a drum carrier.

FIGURE 10 is taken along the line 10--10 of FIG- URE 9; and

FIGURE 11 is a schematic illustration showing a flexible belt arrangement for carrying earth working implements.

The invention resides in the general concept of structure and cooperation of structural devices, all as set forth in the appended claims, but certain embodiments of the general invention are set forth in detail in the drawlugs, and explained herein, in order that those skilled in this particular art may understand the invention sufficiently to make and use the invention in various embodiments within the scope of the claims which define the invention.

Referring now to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, a type of apparatus adapted to be towed by a prime mover is illustrated. In this embodiment, a mobile frame 10 is supported at the rear by dual load wheels 11 and 12, suitable for carrying relatively heavy loads.

To the forward part of the frame 10 is located a plurality of scarifying discs 13 supported by arm means 14 pivotly secured to the frame 10, and by hydraulic cylinder means 15. Cylinder means 15 is thereby able to extend the location of the discs 13 from the frame 10 a distance necessary to place a greater or a lesser amount of load upon the discs and thereby cause a greater or lesser scarifying action to the earth. Discs 13 operate in the manner of the well known farm type of disc harrow employed to loosen and break up packed soil.

A drum blade carriage is mounted by axle 21 upon the frame 10 by means of hydraulic cylinders 22 as one example of a means to provide a moving peripheral path. Cylinders 22 are in turn mounted upon cross frame member 23. Thus, the height and tilt of the drum blade carriage 20 may be selected with respect to the frame 10 according to the need of the particular soil. Thus, there is provided a first vertically adjustable hydraulic support means holding a first end of said blade carriage, a second vertically adjustable hydraulic support means holding a second end of said blade carriage. The first and second hydraulic means holds the blades in any adjusted attitude for establishing a cutting action fixed in said arcuate path to dig into said earth formation.

The drum is equipped with a plurality of implements 24, which may be spikes, scoops, a combination of both or other devices adapted to impact into the substance over which the frame 10 travels, and move that substance with respect to the frame. Preferably, the implements take the form of broad, flat surfaces arranged in paths which spiral around the axis of the blade carriage to create smaller load increments.

An engine 25 is provided in the particular embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, and drives through transmission 26 to rotate the drum 20 independent of the speed of travel of the frame 10. Transmission 26 may be selected from a number of standard transmissions, and

operated by automatic or manual controls. Therefore, only a general representation is made in the drawings. This structure represents a variable speed transmission means for controlling the speed and power of said blades to produce a severing and propelling force which is related to the earth structure being moved for causing the severed material to lift free of the earth and assume a trajectory path to a target spaced from the point of emergcnce of said blades from said formation.

Thus, the drum 20 with the implements 24 thereon typifies the concept of the present invention wherein a plurality of earth cutters are carried in a frame wit-h means for moving the cutters into the earth over which the frame is traveling at a striking velocity greater than the velocity of the frame, such that engaged earth material is caused to move relative to the frame. The blades are driven into an earth formation to be moved. The path of travel is substantially tangential to the depth level to be excavated.

The amounts of material moved by each of the implements 24 which are designed to move earth rather than to loosen the earth, is relatively small in comparison with the total amount of material that the illustrated and described structure is able to handle in a given period of time. That is, this invention is designed to loosen and remove by small increments rather than to shovel a large batch of earth from its location.

In order to take the material thus removed from its location, a belt conveyor 30 is located by a support arm 31 relative to the drum 20 and is adapted to thereby receive and transport loosened and delivered material upwardly to the location of a conveyor 32 mounted laterally of the frame, as best seen in FIGURE 2 of the drawings. The arm 31 serves as a pivoted link interconnecting the blade carriage and the conveyor, whereby the conveyor is related to the tilt and elevation of the blade carriage for efiicient reception of severed earth.

Conveyor 32 then transports the material laterally to a conveyor 33, as shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawings. The conveyor 33 is supported by a wheeled support 34 and is adjustable in height and attitude in order that the material may be deposited laterally of the apparatus, or into another transport device as the need may be.

FIGURE 4 of the drawings illustrates a self propelled version of the invention with useful modifications. In FIGURE 4, a tractor 50 is employed to furnish the motive power, and is equipped with a central structural beam frame 51 to which the working apparatus of the structure is attached.

Drum 52 is held against lateral t-hrust by a support arm 53, and adjusted in vertical relationship to the beam 51 by means of hydraulic cylinder means 55. Thus, there is provided two spaced and vertically adjustable hydraulic supporting means holding the ends of the drum for separate adjustment to control the attitude of the drum with respect to the surface being worked.

A scarifying disc apparatus 57 is mounted forward of the drum 52 and serves the purpose of scarifying and loosening the earth.

A conveyor assembly 59 having a conveyor belt 60 is supported from the beam 51 by means of cylinders 61 which thereby provide a land elevational and attitude control. Arms 54 serve .as pivoted links interconnecting the blade carriage and conveyor for attitude control.-

Anti-sway structure 62 enables the conveyor assembly 59 to resist the strong lateral thrust of moving the large quantities of earth material deposited thereon by the efficient operation of the drum 52. This anti-sway device 62, as in the version illustrated, employs

arms

63 and 64 pivotly united. Arm 64 is attached to the carriage supporting conveyor belt 60 by means of aplate 65. Arm 63 is carried by the beam 51. Thus, the lateral thrust of the belt will be transmitted to the beam 51 regardless of the elevational position of the conveyor.

A conveyor extension 66 is pivotly secured at the end of conveyor 60 and is elevated and supported by means of a cable device 67. Thus, material which is loosened and moved by the impact of the implements carried by drum 52 will be fed to the conveyor 60 and in turn to the conveyor 66 and hence to a remote location or to another transport device, as may be desired.

FIGURES 7 and 8 are provided to contrast two modes of operation. In FIGURE 7 the drum 52 shown in the modification of FIGURES 4 and 6, is provided with implements adapted to move earth toward the conveyor 60 by rotation in a clockwise direction thus catching the material and forcing it through a guide 75 to the conveyor 60. By contrast, the FIGURE 8 illustrates a counterclockwise direction of operation of a similar drum, indicated by reference character 77, having cutter and scoop implements 79. Because it is operating counterclockwise, there will be a tendency to throw material by centrifugal force and therefore a cover 81 is employed to compel the loose material to stay within the operating confines of the implements, and the material is thus moved rearwardly to fall down upon conveyor 60. The cover 81 is held in position by a yieldable spring retainer 83 in order to accommodate hard lumps, stones and other such material too large for the confining area.

FIGURE 9 is a section through a suitable scoop implement showing the manner in which the small implements are employed on the periphery of the drive device in order to pick up relatively small quantities of material, but being great in number to thereby provide a large quantity of material. The FIGURE 10 is a plan view of such an implement.

The FIGURE 11 illustrates a still further embodiment of the invention wherein a flexible belt device 90 is guided in a peripheral path over guide rollers 91. Such an arrangement enables the selective operation of the travel of the implements within confined spaces, and also to provide a greater contact area along the surface being worked. Thus, instead of a theoretical tangential conact, the contact area may be further extended. This is particularly useful in some types of earth structures resistant to the drum type of operation, and also provides a lesser total weight of the mechanical structure.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be afforded the fuil scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for severing earth from its place and causing it to move to a remote location, comprising the combination of:

a mobile frame;

a blade carriage having link means connecting said carriage to said frame for movement through an arcuate path;

a plurality of rigid cutting blades of broad side face carried by said blade carriage and spiralling with respect to the central axis of the blade carriage;

means for driving said blade carriage to drive said cuting blades broad side forward, through an annular path in a first direction to penetrate an earth formation, and to emerge from said earth formation at an angle with respect to the surface thereof;

a first vertically adjustable hydraulic support means holding a first end of said blade carriage, a second vertically adjustable hydraulic support means holding a second end of said blade carriage, said first an d second hydraulic means holding said blades in any adjusted attitude for establishing a cutting action fixed in said arcuate path to dig into said earth formation;

variable speed transmission means for controlling the speed and power of said blades to produce a severing and propelling force which is relatedto the earth structure being moved for causing the severed material to lift free of the earth and assume a trajectory path to a target spaced from the point of emergence of said blades from said formation;

conveyor means located 'at said target for catching and removing severed earth formation material, said conveyor means extending laterally beyond said blades; two spaced and vertically adjustable hydraulic hangers supporting said conveyor in any adjusted attitude, and pivoted links interconnecting said blade carriage and said conveyor whereby said conveyor is related to the tilt and elevation of the blade carriage for efiicient reception of severed earth; and

means for transporting said blades and conveyor means along said earth formation at a speed independent of the cutting blade speed and in a direction opposed to said annular path first direction;

whereby the severed material is placed upon said conveyor means and moved laterally out of the path of cutting.

2. Apparatus for severing earth from its place and causing it to move to a remote location, comprising the combination of:

a mobile frame;

a rigid impeller cutting blade of broad side face carried by said carriage; means for driving said blade carriage to drive said cutting blade broad side forward in an arcuate path in a first direction into an earth formation to be moved, said path being substantially tangential to the depth level to be excavated, two spaced vertically adjustable hydraulic hangers holding said blade carriage adjustable in angular attitude with respect to an earth formation supporting said frame, said hangers holding said blade fixed in said arcuate path and angle of adjustment to dig into said earth formation; motor and variable speed transmission means for forcing said blade into said formation and for moving said arcuate path of blade movement along the earth formation in coordinated relationship to produce a load opposed to the blade of substantially uniform magnitude; means for adjusting the speed and power of said blade to produce a severing and propelling force which is related to the earth structure being moved for causing the severed material to lift free of the earth and assume 'a velocity which will effect sliding of the material from the cutting blade along a trajectory path at an angle to said depth level intermediate a tangent to said arcuate path at the location of departure from said cutting blade and said depth level;

conveyor means for catching and removing severed material, said conveyor means extending laterally beyond said blade;

two spaced and vertically adjustable hydraulic hangers supporting said conveyor in any adjusted attitude, and pivoted links interconnecting said blade carriage and said conveyor whereby said conveyor is related to the tilt and elevation of the blade carriage for efiicient reception of severed earth; and

means for transporting said blade and conveyor means along said earth formation at a speed independent of the cutting blade speed, and in a direction opposed to said first direction thereof;

(References on following page) References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 21,873 1904 Great Britain. 5 1 5 i b 37 X 926,347 5/1963 Great Britain. 5/1932 S I 37 108 39,939 4/1957 Poland.

U g f z n ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner. 1/ 1963 McDarrah 37190 R. L. HOLLISTER, Assistant Examiner.

FOREIGN PATENTS

Claims

1. APPARATUS FOR SEVERING EARTH FROM ITS PLACE AND CAUSING IT TO MOVE TO A REMOTE LOCATION, COMPRISING THE COMBINATION OF: A MOBILE FRAME; A BLADE CARRIAGE HAVING LINK MEANS CONNECTING SAID CARRIAGE TO SAID FRAME FOR MOVEMENT THROUGH AN ARCUATE PATH; A PLURALITY OF RIGID CUTTING BLADES OF BROAD SIDE FACE CARRIED BY SAID BLADE AND SPIRALLING WITH RESPECT TO THE CENTRAL AXIS OF THE BLADE CARRIAGE; MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID BLADE CARRIAGE TO DRIVE SAID CUTING BLADES BROAD SIDE FORWARD, THROUGH AN ANNULAR PATH IN A FIRST DIRECTION TO PENETRATE AN EARTH FORMATION, AND TO EMERGE FROM SAID EARTH FORMATION AT AN ANGLE WITH RESPECT TO THE SURFACE THEREOF; A FIRST VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE HYDRAULIC SUPPORT MEANS HOLDING A FIRST END OF SAID BLADE CARRIAGE, A SECOND VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE HYDRAULIC SUPPORT MEANS HOLDING A SECOND END OF SAID BLADE CARRIAGE, SAID FIRST AND SECOND HYDRAULIC MEANS HOLDING SAID BLADES IN ANY ADJUSTED ATTITUDE FOR ESTABLISHING A CUTTING ACTION FIXED IN SAID ARCUATE PATH TO DIG INTO SAID EARTH FORMATION; VARIABLE SPEED TRANSMISSION MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE SPEED AND POWER OF SAID BLADES TO PRODUCE A SEVERING AND PROPELLING FORCE WHICH IS RELATED TO THE EARTH STRUCTURE BEING MOVED FOR CAUSING THE SEVERED MATERIAL TO LIFT FREE OF THE EARTH AND ASSUME A TRAJECTORY PATH TO A TARGET SPACED FROM THE POINT OF EMERGENCE OF SAID BLADES FROM SAID FORMATION; CONVEYOR MEANS LOCATED AT SAID TARGET FOR CATCHING AND REMOVING SEVERED EARTH FORMATION MATERIAL, SAID CONVEYOR MEANS EXTENDING LATERALLY BEYOND SAID BLADES; TWO SPACED AND VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE HYDRAULIC HANGERS SUPPORTING SAID CONVEYOR IN ANY ADJUSTED ATTITUDE, AND PIVOTED LINKS INTERCONNECTING SAID BLADE CARRIAGE AND SAID CONVEYOR WHEREBY SAID CONVEYOR IS RELATED TO THE TILT AND ELEVATION OF THE BLADE CARRIAGE FOR EFFICIENT RECEPTION OF SEVERED EARTH; AND MEANS FOR TRANSPORTING SAID BLADES AND CONVEYOR MEANS ALONG SAID EARTH FORMATION AT A SPEED INDEPENDENT OF THE CUTTING BLADE SPEED AND IN A DIRECTION OPPOSED TO SAID ANNULAR PATH FIRST DIRECTION; WHEREBY THE SEVERED MATERIAL IS PLACED UPON SAID CONVEYOR MEANS AND MOVED LATERALLY OUT OF THE PATH OF CUTTING.