US3376937A

US3376937A - Land leveler

Info

Publication number: US3376937A
Application number: US410588A
Authority: US
Inventors: John R Groberg
Original assignee: Gray Mountain Iedir Inc
Current assignee: Gray Mountain Iedir Inc
Priority date: 1964-11-12
Filing date: 1964-11-12
Publication date: 1968-04-09
Anticipated expiration: 1985-04-09

Description

April 9, 1968 J. R. GROBERG LAND LEVELER 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed Nov. 12, 1964 INVENTOR.

v JOHN R. GROBERG ATTORNEYS J. R. GROBERG A ril 9, 1968 LAND LEVELER 3 Sheets-Sheet :L

Filed Nov. 1 2, 1964 INVENTOR. JOHN R. GROBERG ATTORNEYS April 1968 J. R. GROBYERG 3,376,937

LAND LEVELER Filed Nov. 12, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IFIG. 7 72 64 60 SOUL INVENTOR.

JOHN R. GROBERG BY 9 v 3 5 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,376,937 LAND LEVELER John R. Groberg, Kaysville, Utah, assignor to Gray Mountain Iedir, Inc., Kaysville, Utah, a corporation of Utah Filed Nov. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 410,588

7 Claims. (Cl. 172-780) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A land leveler having a conveying, cutter-blade assembly with a rigid cutting edge and a suspended conveyor arranged to move and distribute earth along the cutting edge. The legs of the leveler are arranged to telescope and to fold against the conveying, cutter-blade assembly which is arranged to be trailed longitudinally behind a towing vehicle for highway travel.

Brief description This invention relates to tractor-drawn land levelers of the type comprising a wheel mounted frame that carries a suspended transverse blade suitable for either rough or finished land grading.

It is customary for land levelers of this type to have rigid frames that may be fifty feet or more in length, and that are cumbersome to transport to and from work sites requiring grading. Patent No. 3,036,392, issued May 29, 1962 discloses one such land leveler, wherein the frame has been designed to telescope, thereby greatly reducing the overall length of the leveler during transportation to and from a work site.

The present invention also provides a land leveler, the overall length of which is readily reduced as it is transported. In the present invention, however, a special conveying, cutterblade is provided to carry away excess earth accumulating in front of the blade and not deposited in low spots. As a result of the eflicient operation of this conveying, cutter-blade, a much wider blade can be used than is found on the usual land leveler, and even a leveler designed to be pulled by an ordinary farm tractor can be equipped with a blade eighteen feet, or more wide. A wide blade further increases the problems in transporting a leveler from site to site, since in its transverse use position such blade will completely block many roads.

Accordingly, the present invention not only provides a leveler that can be folded to reduce its overall length as it is transported from site to site, but one in which the blade is positioned along the trailing axis of the leveler during such transport, so that it does not provide an obstruction to road travel.

Through simple, lightweight, and inexpensive, mechanical components, the conveying, cutter-blade of the present leveler can also be easily adjusted to provide any desired cutting depth or angle. These lightweight components, together with the truss construction employed in the invention result in a much lighter than usual land leveler. This light weight is a definite advantage since it also contributes to the ease with which the leveler can be pulled by a tow vehicle. Furthermore, the light weight allows the soil to be worked when it is moist Without the leveler becoming bogged down. Thus, in farm use the soil can be worked down to seed bed level with the leveler Without obtaining a slick, hard, finish on the ground such as results from the use of heavier levelers that have to work on dry ground. It is therefore possible for the farmer to omit many of the usual required harrowing steps in land preparation.

There is shown in the accompanlying drawings a specific embodiment of the invention representing what is presently regarded as the best mode of carrying out the generic concepts in actual practice. From the detailed description of this presently preferred form of the invention, other more specific objects and features will become apparent.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the land leveler of the invention set up for grading operations, and with the dust guard removed for clarity;

FIG. 2, a side elevation of the land leveler in the position of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3, a fragmentary enlarged view of the chain tightener of the leveler;

FIG. 4, a vertical section taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5, a top plan view, with the land leveler folded to its travel position;

FIG. 6, a side elevation of the land leveler in the position of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7, a vertical section taken on the line 77 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8, an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 88 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9, an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawings:

In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the land leveler, shown generally at 10, includes a cross-head 11 to which

legs

12 and 13 and drawbar 14 are pivotally connected, and from which a conveying, cutter-blade assembly 17 is suspended.

Cross-head 11 includes parallel, upper, intermediate, and

lower beams

18, 19, and 20, respectively, with the intermediate and lower beams 19 and 20 interconnected by diagonal and vertical truss members 21.

Posts

23 and 24, at opposite ends of the cross-head are respectively fixed to

plates

18a and 18b extending oppositely outward from upper beam 18. The posts are also fixed to similar plates 19a and 191), connected to intermediate beam 19, and terminate at plates 20a and 20b extending out from lower beam 20.

Posts

23 and 24 provide pivots for

legs

12 and 13, as will be further explained.

Another post 25 is mounted midway of the length of l the head-frame, to provide a pivot for drawbar 14. Post 25 is fixed to each of the upper, intermediate, and lower beams.

Legs

12 and 13 are each of truss construction, wtih an inclined upper rail 26 and a horizontal lower rail 27 interconnected by diagonal braces 28. A cylindrical sleeve 29 interconnects the upper and

lower rails

26 and 27 of leg 12 and is journaled about post 23. A similar sleeve 30

interconnects rails

26 and 27 of leg 13 and is journaled about post 24.

Attached to the end of each

leg

12 and 13 remote from the cross-head is a short section 31 that includes a top rail 32, and a bottom rail 33, interconnected by diagonal braces 34. A shaft 35 extends behind each short section and a wheel assembly, including a pair of wheels 36, is carried by the shaft.

Wheels 36 are journaled about an axle 37 and the axle extends transversely through an upright support 38. C01- lar 39 is journaled around support 38 so that the support, and thus the axle and wheels carried thereby, are free to revolve about a vertical axis. Sleeve 40 is fixed to the collar, with the barrel of the sleeve extending substantially normal to the axis of the upright support. Sleeve 40 slides on shaft 35 and is locked in place by a pin 40a that extends through corresponding holes, provided for the purpose, in the sleeve and shaft. This arrangement insures easy mounting and dismounting of the Wheels and holds the wheels locked in travel position on the short sections.-

The short sections are each adjustably attached to their

respective leg

12 or 13, by a pivot connection 41 that interconnects the lower rails 27 and 33 and a spreader assembly 42 positioned between upper rails 26 and plates 43 mounted on top rails 32.

Spreader assemblies 42 can be of any commonly available type, but in the illustrated embodiment they each consist of a handwheel 45, an upright journaled handle 46 for rotating the handwheel, an elongate housing 47, and a threaded rod 48 that is reciprocated within hous ing 47 by rotation of the handwheel. The usual gearing within housing 47 converts the rotary motion of handwheel to the axial thrust of rod 48. Housings 47 are pivotally connected to the upper rails 26 of the legs and the threaded rods 46 are pivotally connected to plates 43. Rotation of handwheels 45 reciprocates rods 48 to pivot the short truss sections about the pivot connections 41. It should be apparent that other spreader assemblies could be used. For example, a conventional fluid pump operated assembly could replace the gear-operated spreader assembly illustrated.

Drawbar 14 is constructed in the same manner as

legs

12 and 13 and has a short section 49 attached at its end. Short section 49 does not carry wheels, as do sections 31, but rather, its shaft 50 carries a hitch 50a, adapted to interconnect the land leveler and a towing vehicle. The drawbar is pivotally connected to the cross-head by a cylindrical sleeve 51, corresponding to sleeves 29 of the

legs

12 and 13. Sleeve 51 is journaled about shaft 25.

Through rotation of handwheels 45 on the legs, and handwheel 52 on the drawbar, the angular relation between the legs and their attached short sections, and the drawbar and its attached short section can be varied to set the cross-head at desired height.

Cross-head 11 also serves as a frame support for the suspended conveying cutter-blade assembly 17. Thus, spaced arms 53 reach out from lower beam 20 to support a ground engaging curved blade 54 that extends the full length of the cross-head. The arms hold the long axis of the blade parallel to the long axis of the cross-head.

Positioned immediately behind the curved blade is a flexible, endless conveyor belt 55, that is suspended by a marginal edge 56 such that the working run of the belt is in a vertical plane immediately behind the blade, with the conveyor belt skirting the cross-head.

The belt is suspended on an endless track 57, formed from a curved piece of round rod, by pairs of grooved wheels 58 arranged to engage the track from both above and below. The wheels are journaled on stub shafts 59 that are fixed to rods 60 extending transversely across the belt. Rods 60 are securely attached to the belt by rivets 60a and serve as transverse stiffeners for the flexible belt material. Track 57 is held in position by laterally extending arms 61 that are carried by

posts

23, 24, and 25 and intermediate beam 19.

Vertical positioned, elongate rollers 62 are journaled top and bottom through upper and

lower flanges

63 and 64 respectively, of intermediate and lower beams 19 and 20 to provide idlers for the working run of the belt.

In operation, as the leveler is pulled by a tow vehicle, curved blade 54 engages raised ground areas to grade them to desired level. Material cut loose during this operation is guided up and over the top edge of curved blade 54 and impinges on the vertically positioned working run of the conveyor belt. When the blade and conveyor belt are arranged to extend other than normal to the direction of travel of the towing vehicle and leveler wheels, the impinging material applies a directional thrust force to the conveyor belt that causes it to move around track 47. As it travels, the conveyor belt carries the material thrown up in front of it by the blade transversely across the front of the leveler to deposit it in any low spots over which the leveler passes, or to the side of the leveler. Since the towing vehicle does not have to continue to pull all material cut by the blade, 21 smaller, less powerful, towing vehicle and/or a longer cutting blade can be etficiently used.

The impinging material forced up from the blade also places an upward thrust on the working run of the conveyor belt, such that the lower grooved wheels of the pairs of wheels 58 engage and roll on track 57. At the same time, rollers 62 provide backing members for one belt and prevent its being pushed away from the blade. When the belt is on its return run, it is suspended by the upper grooved wheels engaging the track.

A chain 70 has its ends bolted at 71 and 72, respectively, to cross-head 11, and passes through a guide 73 and a chain tightener 74 at the free end of drawbar 14, to form

chain legs

75 and 76.

The lengths of the

legs

75 and 76 are easily changed and these lengths are determinative of the angles formed by the drawbar and the cross-head and, therefore, the cutting angle of blade 54.

The chain and pivoted drawbar allow the cutting angle to be varied as ground conditions dictate and allow the angle to be set so that the conveyor will most effectively carry off material impinging on it.

To change the length of the legs, it is only necessary to withdraw pin 77 from its holding position through guide 73, a chain link, and upper member 78 of the drawbar; to release chain tightener 74; and to turn the drawbar to the desired angle before replacing pin 77 and taking up any slack in the chain with tightener 74.

The legs can be trailed directly behind the leveler during grading operation, regardless of the blade angle, since they are easily pivoted to a posidon extending substantially parallel with the drawbar. Clamps 79 fix the relative position of

telescoping members

80 and 81 making up

diagonal braces

82 and 83, respectively, and when the ends of the braces are connected to their legs by pins 84 and the clamps 79 are tightened, the braces, which are pivotally connected at their other ends to the crosshead by a pivot rod 85, lock the legs in position.

Another curved blade 86, positioned above and facing opposite curved blade 54, serves as a dust guard extending the length of the cross-head. Arms 87 extending outwardly from

posts

23, 24, and 25 hold blade 86 in position. Blade 86 prevents dust and other material being forced over the top edge of the conveyor belt and into the conveyor guide and support mechanism where it might damage the operating structure.

To fold the leveler up for highway travel, it is only necessary to release chain 70 from chain tightener 74 and guide 73, and to pivot the drawbar counter-clockwise until it extends substantially parallel with the long axis of the cross-head and conveyor belt.

Diagonal braces

82 and 83 are released, and leg 12 is then pivoted counter-clockwise until it is positioned adjacent the drawbar.

A jack leg 90, also of truss configuration, is carried by leg 12 and when leg 12 is positioned adjacent the drawbar, jack leg 90 is released and pivoted clockwise about pivot connection 90a to a position extending away from the cross-head at the end opposite that from which the drawbar extends.

The diagonal telescoping braces 82 and 83 are shortened and pivoted to a location beneath upper beam 18, and leg 13 is rotated counter-clockwise until it extends away from the cross-head at the end opposite that from which the drawbar extends. The entire apparatus is then held in place between

legs

12 and 13 by a brace 91 that holds leg 13 and jack leg 90 rigidly in fixed spaced relation. Brace 91 is preferably pivotally connected to leg 13 by a pivot pin 91a, and removable pin 91b interconnects the brace and jack leg 90.

The wheel assembly is removed from the short section 31 attached to leg 12 by removing its pin 40a and sliding it off, and is then mounted on a short section 92, similarly attached to jack leg 90. The angular relationships of short section 92 and the jack leg 90, of the short section 31 and leg 12, and of the short section 49 attached to a tow vehicle and drawbar 14, are set in the manner previously described, to position the cross head 11 far enough above the ground surface that the curved blade 54 will clear all obstacles as the leveler is moved along a highway. If the drawbar of the leveler is attached to a hoist unit of a tow vehicle, the hoist unit can also be readily used to change the height of the blade.

The invention provides a highly eflicient lightweight land leveler having a maximum length cutting blade for the tow vehicle used. The cutting blade can be easily set at any desired cutting height and angle, and the blade can be readily raised and the entire leveler can be compactly folded for road travel.

Whereas there is here illustrated and specifically described a certain preferred construction of apparatus which is presently regarded as the best mode of carrying out the invention, it should be understood that various changes may be made and other construction adopted without departing from the inventive subject matter particularly pointed out and claimed hereinbelow.

I claim:

1. A land leveler, comprising a cross-head; a pair of legs pivotally connected one at each end of said crosshead; a pair of brace members, each releasably interconnecting said cross-head and one of said legs intermediate its length; means for varying the length of each of said brace members; a wheel support shaft at the free end of each of said legs; wheels removably mounted on the wheel support shaft of each of said legs; a drawbar; means pivotally connecting one end of said drawbar to the center of said cross-head; means adjustably interconnecting said cross-head and the drawbar whereby the angles formed between the axes of the drawbar and cross-head can be fixed as desired; and a cutting blade assembly suspended from said cross-head.

2. A land leveler according to claim 1, further including a jack leg pivotally connected at one of its ends to one of said legs adjacent the pivot connection of the leg and the cross-head; and a wheel support shaft carried by the free end of said jack leg.

3. A land leveler according to claim 2, wherein the scraper blade comprises an upwardly curved ground engaging member having an elongate axis and a flexible endless conveyor belt; means suspending said belt such that the conveying surface thereof is positioned in a vertical plane immediately behind the upper edge of the ground engaging member, with the working run of the belt extending adjacent the elongate axis of the ground engaging member.

4. A conveying, cutter-blade assembly, comprising a frame; a curved blade fixed to the bottom of said frame; an endless conveyor belt; and means suspending said conveyor belt from said frame whereby its working run extends substantially parallel to and immediately behind the curved blade, said means including a track carried by the frame, upper spaced rollers carried by a marginal edge of said conveyor belt and arranged to engage a top surface of said track; and lower spaced rollers carried by said conveyor belt and arranged to engage a lower surface of the track in response to lifting action on the belt.

5. A conveying, cutter-blade assembly according to claim 4, further including spaced, elongate, vertically mounted 'rollers journaled in the frame and arranged to hold the working run of the conveyor belt substantially parallel with the blade.

6. A land leveler, comprising a cross-head; legs extend ing outwardly from one side of said cross-head; wheels carried by said legs; a drawbar extending outwardly at the opposite side of said cross-head; an endless conveyor belt; means suspending said conveyor belt from said crosshead, whereby the conveyor belt forms a skirt around the cross-head, with the working run of the belt forming a substantially upright plane, said suspending means including guide means comprising a track carried by the cross-head and bearing means carried by the conveyor belt, said bearing means comprising upper rollers arranged to engage an upper surface of the track and lower rollers spaced from the upper rollers and adapted to engage a lower surface of the track in response to lifting action on the conveyor belt; a scraper blade; and means mounting said blade parallel to said conveyor belt, whereby material cut loose by the blade passes upwardly over the face of the blade to impinge on and drive the belt.

7. A land-leveler according to claim 6, wherein vertically mounted, spaced, elongate rollers carried by the cross-head hold the working run of the conveyor belt substantially parallel with the blade.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,617,538 2/1927 Mowbray 37-143 X 1,816,389 7/1931 Moberg 37-143 2,567,805 9/1951 Doerfler 37-168 2,747,306 5/1956 Hasenbuhler 37-144 X 3,036,392 5/1962 Marvin et a1. 37-180 3,266,181 8/1966 Olafson 37-180 X ANTONIO F. GUIDA, Primary Examiner. ABRAHAM G. STONE, Examiner. R. L. HOLLISTER, Assistant Examiner.