US332042A - Excavating-machine - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. C. BLIGKBNSDERPER.

BXCAVATING MACHINE.

No. 332,042. Patented Deo. 8, 1885.

N. PETEHS. Phomuumgnphnr. waxhingwn, DA C.

(No Model.) x 4 Sheets-Sheet. 3.

` G. C. BLICKENSDERFER.

EXQAVATING MACHINE. No. 882,042. 1 ,Patented Deo, 8, 1885.

NA PETERS. Plolvlithagraplmr, Wnhnglors D. C.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

' G. C. BLICKENSDQERFER.

EXGAVATING MACHINE.

No. 332,042. Patented Dee. 8, 1885.

I UNrrnn rnl'rns i y GEORGE C. BLICKENSDERFER, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

EXCAVATING-VI-ACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming pari: of Letters Patent No. 332,042,dated December 8, 1885.

Application filed July 25, 1884. Serial No. 138,783.

(No model.)

' DERFER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Erie, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Excavating-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled 'in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates te improvements in excavating-machines in which aseries of buckets or scoops are connected together and operated in the manner of an endless-belt conveyer; and the objects of my invention are, first, to provide a bucket or scoop which shall have one of its sides and its bottom remova-l ble from it, so as to insure a perfect clearance of earth from it at the dumping; second, to provide, in conjunction with such a bucket orY scoop, a chute for receiving the dumpings, which acts as a wiper or cleaner for the bucket and clears it entirely of any adhering earth; third, a gage for regulating the grade of the excavation; and, fourth, to provide sundry minor improvements in the construction, which will fully be pointed out hereinafter.

My invention as illustra-ted in the accompanying drawings is adapted, principally, to

excavating ditches-such, for instance, as are made for laying drain-pipes-and is shown mounted on wheels; but the same device lmounted on a boat or raft will serve equally well for dredging under the water, or,if mounted on proper ways, it may also be used for general excavating work.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the device, as follows: Figure I is aside elevation of most of the working parts, the frame being in longitudinal vertical section on the line was in Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is afront elevation, the frame being in transverse vertical section. Fig. 3 is a plan or top View, with the top scoops or buckets-removed, so as to show parts below them. Fig. 4 is a cross-horizontal section on the line y y in Fig. 1, looking down and only showing a part of the:frame-work. Figs. 5 to 14, inclusive, show details of construetion,and will be referred to and explained as required hereinafter.

The construction and operation of the machine are as follows:

A supporting frame-work, A A, Sie., is mounted on wheels B B, &c., and a leg-beam, F, is mounted in this frame-work, so as to slide in guides ff vertically. The leg-beam is provided with sprocket-wheels G G at each end, and it has a rack, D2, on one side, by which it is raised and lowered by a wormwheel, D', on a short upright shaft, D, in the center of the frame-work. A large internallytoothed gear, C. which has no hub or spokes, is mounted horizontally in sheaves e', which are hung in brackets a, secured to the frame. This gear is provided with a lever, I. to which a horse will be attached and made to travel around the machine. An upright shaft, C, is mounted near one Side of the frame-work, within the gear C, and geared to be operated from it by the pinion C. A bracket, F, on the upper end ofthe leg F,supports the sprocket-wheel G, its shaft C5, and its operating gearing, the beveled pinions G3 C". The pinion C is feathered upon the shaft C`-I and can slide up and down upon it,and the bracket F* also embraces and slides upon the said shaft C. In this manner motion is communicated from the gear O to the sprocket G at any point of elevation of the leg F.

The worm-wheel shaft l) (seen in dotted lines in Fig. 2) is operated from the shaft C as follows A counter-shaft, E, is operated from the shaft C2 by the gears c e, and by the sprocket-wheels c and d and the chain d the shaft D is revolved in a direction opposite to the shaft G2, and I so proportion the gearing that the shaft D will revolve slower than G2. On the shaft CZ is a sprocket-wheel, c', and a chain, cl2, connects it with a sprocket-wheel,

d', on the shaft D. By this gearing the shaft D can be revolved in the same direction as the shaft O2, and I make the gearings of such a size that the shaft D will revolve faster than the shaft C. The purpose of thus changing the speed is that the leg may be elevated with safety at a rapid speed, while it should go down slowly. rIhe gear c and the sprocket-wheel c on the shaft C2 are provided each with one of the parts of a ratchet-clutch, and are mounted loosely on the shaft by an annular groove and set-screw, for instance, and a shifting collar,

IOl

c, feathered on the shaft C, can be thrown so as to bring either of the parts c or c into action by moving a shifting-lever, c4, which extends to the operator-s stand, and by it the operator can raise or lower' the leg at any time during the operation of the machine.

, The means for regulating or gaging the grade of the excavation are as follows: One arm, F, extends back fronrthe leg F at a point near its top. In the end of this arm is an opening or slot, f2, through which passes a gage-staff, F2, which has a foot with a roller in the bottom of the ditch. The staff is free to slide up and down in the opening f2, and is loosely guided and held by a guide, f3, on the framework. On the gage-staff at the point where it passes through the opening f2 in the arm Fthereisa scale laid out. If the front wheels run over a hillock, and thus lift the leg up so that the scoops will be lifted above the proper grade, the arm F2 will be pushed down along the scale, and if the wheels run into a depression the reverse action will take place, and the operator will raise or lower the leg, as the case requires, 'until the scale shows the grade desired. A

4 The means for propelling the machine consists of a winch, WV, on the shaft C2, and a rope, R, which will he fastened ahead to a stake in the line of the progress.

The construction and operation of the scoops or buckets are as follows:

H I-I, &c., are the scoops, one of which is shown in perspective in Fig. 7. They are formed preferably of one piece of sheetmetal, bent into the form shown. They have no back or ends. They are connected together by links L h, which are pivoted to them, and when thus connected form an endless belt or chain, which runs over the sprocket-wheels G G. A second endless belt or sprocketchain, formed ofthe wide flat links I I, &c., is also adjusted on these saine sprocket-wheels G G. The arrangement is such that 'every alternate link I forms the back of a bucket orscoop. A Section of this chain is shown'in perspective in Fig. 5. In every alternate j oint of this chain there is also pivoted a bracket or shelf, I,which is of the proper size and shape to form a bottom for the scoops. Figs. 5 and 12 show the form and adjustment of these shelves. They are provided with weighted arms Qwhich swing in openingsz'2 in the chainlinks, I. The arrangement is such that on the part of the chain which is passing down the weighted arms hold the shelves up against the face of the links. (See Fig. 1.)

The sprockets-wheels G G are shown in detail fully in Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 1l, Fig. 8 being a side view of the sprocket G, and Fig. 9 a front view, and Fig. 10 a side view of the lower sprocket, G', and Fig. 11 a front view. These wheels are hexagonal in form and are provided with faces for receiving both the vchain formed of the scoops H and links h and the chain formed of the links I. The former rest upon the faces g gin the sprocket-wheel G, and g" g in the wheel G', while the links I rest upon the faces g in wheel G, 4and g5 in thewheel G. The faces g on the wheel G are lprovided with sprockets g3, which enter the holes i in the links I, and the face gin the same wheel have sprockets g2, which catch under the ends of the links h. (See Fig. 1.) In this manner the` two chains are moved simultaneously. The wheel G on the lower end of the leg F has on its face g5 lugs g4, which are so placed as to strike the arms i of the pivoted shelves I, and turn the shelves so that they will enter and iill the bottoms of the scoops.

(See Fig. 1.) The wheel G also has the same lugs, g, for keeping the bottoms I in place while they are passing around th at wheel.v As the buckets pass up from the wheel G, their back edges and the links h slide i n rabbeted ways h2 on the leg-beam F, and the links I lie dat upon the face I2 of that beam.

manner the parts of the buckets are place while they are passing up. When the buckets have passed over the wheel Fig. 1,) and are" ready to dump, directly above a chute, J, into which their contents will fall. The upper end or nose of this chute is so arranged that it will pass directly through the shells of the buckets from end to end.

In this The chain', which forms the backs and bottoms of the scoops, separates from the chain carrying the shells immediately as they leave the wheel G. The separation of these two chains is effected by a double slieave, K,which is supported on arms K', the beam F. This sheave parts-one, 7c', will receive the chain formed of the links I, andthe other, 7c lc, the one formed of the buckets Hand links h. This separation of the two chains takes the backs and is divided into two IOO which extend from bottoms out of the buckets above the chute J I and leaves the shcllsot' the buckets free for the passage of the nose ot' the chute through them. The passing of the nose of the chute IIO through the shells wipes them clean of all adhering particles of earth, the nose bein such a form as to iit the sides of the shells. (See Fig. 3.)

Figs. 13 and 14 are respectively perspective and section views of cutters or scrapers h', which are attached to the links h just in front of each scoop or bucket, (see Fig. 1,) and serve to relieve the buckets of the work of digging or cutting the earth with which they are to be filled. The use of these is not the buckets may as to do this work; but as the cutters are liable to be nieked or broken it is much easier to replace or repair them when separate from the bu ket than whe attached thereto. to se them aboulzl s shown.

1. In an excavating-machine, a scoop `or bucket having its back and bottom separable essential, vfor l have eutting-edges on top so I prefer from its front-and side walls, substantially 4as scoops or buckets are operated in the manner of an endless-belt conveyer, the combination of a conveyer-chain which carries the backis and bottoms of the buckets with a secon chain which carries a series of shells which form the remaining sides of the buckets, substantially as shown and described.

3. In an excavating-machine, the combination, substantially as shown, of the following elements: aleg-beam, sprocket-wheels at each end of said leg-beam, having faces for two separate conveycr chains, and two conveyerchains running on said sprocket-wheels, one of which carries shells which forni the front and side walls of the buckets or scoops, and the other the bottoms and back walls of the buckets or scoops.

4. In an excavating-machine, the combination, substantially as set forth, of `the following elements: a supporting frame-Work, alegbeam guided in said frame-Work and movable vertically, sprocket-wheels at each end of said leg-beam, having means, as described, for earrying two separate conveyer-chaius, the arm K, and double sheave K, connected with said leg-beam, the conveyer-chain formed of the shells H, and links h passing-,over said sprocket-wheels and outwardly over the sheave K, the conveyer-chain formed of the links I, and having the shelves Ipivoted thereon, passing over said sprocket-wheels and inwardly over the sheave K, and lnally the chute J, adjusted, as described, above the shea-Ve K and in position to have its nose pass through the shells H as they descend.

5. In an excavating-machinefthe'combination, substantially as set forth, of the following elements: a supporting-frame, a drivinggear consisting of the internally-toothed rotating rim C, and a scoop-conveyer and its operating mechanism, arranged, substantially as set forth, within and vertically adjustable through said driving-gear on the line of its axis.

6. In an excavating-machine, the combination, as described, of the drivegear C, the upright shaft O2, arranged within and operated i'rom the drive-gear C, a vertically-adjustable scoop-couveyerarrangedlwithinlsaid gear C, and operated from gearing, substantially as described, on said shaft C", and vertically adjustable through said driving-gear C on the line of its axis.

7. In an excavatingniachiue, the combination, substantially as herein set forth, of a vertically-adjustable scoop-conveyer, an arm extending back from the leg-beam of said conveyer, and a gage-staff sliding loosely in an opening at the end of said arm, and having a foot trailing on the bottom of the excavation.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presenceof two witnesses.

GEO. C. BLICKENSDERFER.

Witnesses:

JNO. K. HALLocK, Ronr. H. PORTER.

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