US3848751A

US3848751A - Side boom pipe laying machine

Info

Publication number: US3848751A
Application number: US00324194A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Holland
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-01-16
Filing date: 1973-01-16
Publication date: 1974-11-19
Anticipated expiration: 1991-11-19

Abstract

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a mobile article handling vehicle adapted for off-theroad operations such as pipe laying in the most rugged types of terrain includes a light weight vehicle unit with ground engaging tires of great ground bearing area, a rotatable, upright mast on the unit, a tiltable boom with its inner end pivoted to the upper end of the mast, a hoist structure movable longitudinally along the boom between selected stations, and a supporting leg pivoted to the outer end of the boom and rotatable between a supporting position where the lower end thereof engages the ground to provide vertical support, and a traveling position substantially parallel to and above the boom.

Description

United States Patent [19] Holland, Sr.

[451 Nov. 19, 1974 SIDE BOOM PIPE LAYING MACI-IINE [76] Inventor: John G. Holland, Sr., 648 Rocky River, Houston, Tex. 77027 [22] Filed: Jan. 16, 1973 [21] Appl. N0.: 324,194

[52] US. Cl 212/145, 212/56, 214/75 H [51] Int. Cl. B66c 23/78 [58] Field of Search 212/56, 59 R, 63, 145; 214/75 H [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,076,559 2/1963 Crile 212/59 3,082,889 3/1963 Bopp r r 214/75 3,298,539 1/1967 Sundstrom 212/30 3,366,250 1/1968 Grove 212/59 3,417,882 12/1968 McConnell 198/113 3,691,943 9/1972 Boyd 214/75 Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher Assistant Examiner-Jeffrey V. Nase Attorney, Agent, or Firm-David L. Moseley [57] ABSTRACT In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a mobile article handling vehicle adapted for off-the-road operations such as pipe laying in the most rugged types of terrain includes a light weight vehicle unit with ground engaging tires of great ground bearing area, a rotatable, upright mast on the unit, a tiltable boom with its inner end pivoted to the upper end of the mast, a hoist structure movable longitudinally along the boom between selected stations, and a supporting leg pivoted to the outer end of the boom and rotatable between a supporting position where the lower end thereof engages the ground to provide vertical support, and a traveling position substantially parallel to and above the boom.

11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEL 258V I 9|974 SHEET 30F 3 SIDE BOOM PIPE LAYING MACHINE This invention relates generally to a mobile hoisting device, and more particularly to a new and improved boom-type hoisting or loading vehicle adapted for offthe-road construction operations such as pipe laying or the like.

In the prior art, a typical machine that has been used in pipe laying operations is the so-called side boom tractor having an A-frame or other mast pivoted to one side and with the top guyed by cables. The winch works together with extremely heavy counter balance weights are placed on the other side of the tractor to maintain it in a stable condition as loads are being handled. These machines although widely used have a number of significant disadvantages. For example, the vehicle is required to carry the additional load of the weights, making it quite heavy and unwieldly and difficult to use in unfavorable terrain such as marsh and swamp. Moreover, other equipment is sometimes required to add or remove weights to adjust for various load conditions. Many other types of boom and truss arrangements have been used as static structures in the building and construction trades, however, these devices are not mobile and are massive and are thus not suitable in concept for off-the-road operations.

It is the leading object of this invention to provide a new and improved, mobile material handling and hoisting machine that does not require heavy counterweights for stability, and is arranged and particularly adapted for off-the-road usage such as pipe laying or the like in the most rugged terrain conditions. This and other objects are attained in accordance with the concepts of the present invention through the provision of a vehicle unit including a frame having ground engaging means such as low pressure pneumatic tires or the like having great ground bearing areas that enable mobility even in the most rugged and marshy terrain, and a boom structure having one end pivoted to the upper end of an upright, rotatable mast mounted on a deck that is attached to the frame. A hoist arranged for handling a load is suspended from a carriage assembly that is movable longitudinally along the boom and can be positioned and fixed at any selected location within its range of travel thereon. The carriage assembly also includes means that enable limited movement of the hoist at right angles to the boom structure. The outer end of the boom is provided with a support means such as a leg having its upper end pivotally attached thereto and adapted to be placed in a working position where the lower end thereof engages the ground with a shoe area sufficient to provide vertical support for the outermost end of the boom. The support also can be disposed in a traveling position substantially parallel to and above the boom, out of the way of the carriage assembly and hoist which are movable along the boom. With the support in the traveling position the boom can be aligned with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle unit when moving between operating locations, and the boom structure can be tilted upwardly for handling certain loads, as well as for loading articles onto, or unloading articles from, the deck of the vehicle unit itself.

The present invention has other objects and advantages which will become more clearly apparent in connection with the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic view of the over-all configuration of the vehicle and the boom structure shown in the traveling position;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the vehicle with the boom structure positioned to the side in working conditions;

FIG. 3 is a front view similar to FIG. 2 to illustrate the vehicle in use for pipe laying operations;

FIG. 4 is a side view with enlarged detail of the various structural components of the side boom structure;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the side boom structure; FIG. 6 is a cross section on line 66 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a cross section on line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a vehicle that is constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention is shown as including a front unit 10 having a frame 11 that carries an engine 12 and an operators station 13. Transmission 14 couples the output of the engine 12 to the input of a typical transfer case 15 having two outputs located at the level of the frame 11, the forward output being coupled by a drive shaft 16 to the differential and axle housing 17 for the front wheels 18, and the other output pointing toward the rear. The front wheels 18 may be of any suitable type, but preferably are low pressure pneumatic tires of the type shown in the Albee U.S. Pat. No. 24,272.

A rear unit 20 is coupled in tandem with the front unit 10 by means of an articulative coupling assembly indicated generally at 21. The coupling assembly may be of the type disclosed and claimed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,302 to provide for articulation of the front and rear units about orthogonal axes, however as shown here the coupling assembly includes upper and

lower forks

22 and 23 on a plate 24 that defines the rear of the front frame 11.

Tongues

25 and 26 are connected to the respective forks by

king pins

27 and 28, the pins being aligned on a vertical steering axis. The

tongues

25 and 26 are welded to a transverse plate assembly 29 that has outwardly and forwardly extending arms 30 and 31 (FIG. 2), the arms being connected to

hydraulic cylinders

32 and 33 which are in turn connected to appropriate brackets 34 on the sides of the front frame 11. The

cylinders

32 and 33 can be hydraulically actuated in a conventional manner to cause the front unit 10 to swing laterally relative to the rear unit 20 in order to effect steering of the vehicle.

The rear unit 20 includes a frame 38 having the plate assembly 29 at its front end, the frame having spaced differential and

axle housings

39 and 40 attached thereto by any suitable means. Each axle housing supports

tires

41 and 42 of the same general type as the front tires 18, the tires being driven from the rearwardly pointing output of the transfer case 15 by means of

drive shafts

43 and 44 and appropriate universal joints so that all six wheels of the vehicle are driven. For further structural details of the drive train, reference may be had to may aforementioned Pat. No. 3,630,302. Preferably, a tire loading system is incorporated into the rear unit 20 as described'and claimed in my copending application Ser. No. 148,585, filed June 1, 1971. The system, which includes a series of spaced apart rollers located underneath each of the four corner portions of the deck 48 of the vehicle unit 20 (only one series of rollers being shown in fragmentary section in FIG. 2 for purpose of simplicity), includes separate pairs of

rollers

36 and 37 that are mounted on

shafts

44 and 45 located above the

tires

41 and 42 and to either side of the vertical plane containing the center line of tire. The

shafts

44 and 45 can have their ends connected to vertically arranged guides that cooperate with companion channels to give the roller units the capability for vertical movement into and out of engagement with

wear pads

46 and 47 on a respective tire. Vertical movement can be accomplished, for example, through use of hydraulic rams (not shown) coupled between the

shafts

44 and 45 and the underside of the deck 48. When engaged, the rollers transfer load directly from the deck 48 to the tires to relieve stress in the axles upon which the tires are mounted and thereby significantly increase the load carrying capacity of the rear vehicle unit. Of course, the rollers could be driven from the output of the transfer case to effect a top roller drive for the

rear tires

41 and 42, and can be utilized for braking the vehicle also. However, a typical use is in the load transferring mode of operation as discussed above.

The deck 48 is structurally mounted and horizontally arranged on the rear frame 38 by any suitable means, for example, transverse pivot pins on the front and a turnbuckle coupling on the rear to enable operation of the tire loading system. If the loading system is not used, of course the deck 48 would be rigidly connected to the frame 38. The deck 48 is provided with

hydraulic stabilizer cylinders

49 and 50 that are fixed to either side thereof by appropriate means. The cylinders 49 and 50 (FIG. 3) have extensible and retractable rods 51 with ground engaging feet 52 that function when extended to provide lateral support and stability for the deck 48. Of course when the vehicle is conditioned for traveling, the rods are retracted as shown in FIG. 1. The deck 48 carries a circular turret plate 53 that is appropriately mounted to be rotated to various angular dispositions by suitable means such as a drive pinion 54 that meshes with a ring gear 55 on the turret plate as shown in FIG. 3, the pinion being selectively operated by a reversible hydraulic motor or the like (not shown). The turret plate 53 carries an upright mast assembly 57 having spaced apart side members 58 with their lower ends rigidly fixed to the plate 53. The inner end of a side extending truss or boom assembly 59 is pivoted to the upper end of the mast 57 by an elongated pivot pin 60 Although several structural methods can be readily visualized by those skilled in the art for effecting vertical tilting of the boom assembly 59 about the pivot pin 60, one manner as shown in FIG. 1 includes providing the upper end portion 61 of each side member of the mast 57 with a bent or outwardly deflected configuration, and positioning hydraulic cylinders 62 each having one end pivoted to a cross pin 63 on the boom 59 and its opposite end pivoted to a cross pin 64 on the mast S7. Inasmuch as the lateral spacing between the

pins

63 and 60 provides a moment arm, it will be appreciated that extension and retraction of the cylinders 62 will respectively raise and lower the outer end of the boom assembly 59 as desired. The cylinders 62 are coupled by hydraulic lines (not shown) to a suitable pump and hydraulic circuit that can be operated from a control panel 66 located for convenience directly to the rear of the operations station 13 on the front vehicle unit 10.

The boom assembly 59 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 has main

structural members

68 and 69, for example I beams, that are spaced apart and connected together by suitable cross bracing 70 and 70'. To lend further rigidity, truss members 71 are welded near the ends in the

members

68 and 69 and extend upwardly at low inclination to an apex 72 near the center of the boom. The

members

68 and 71 are further joined at spaced points by vertical and

diagonal braces

73 and 74.

The outer end of the boom assembly 59 has pivotally attached thereto an outrigger support or leg 75 having

structural side members

76 and 77 with a support foot or plate 78 disposed at their lower ends. The support 75 is pivoted by means of a shaft 79 and can be rotated through an angle of about 270 between a working position as shown in FIG. 4 where the foot plate 78 can rest upon the ground, and a traveling position as shown in FIG. 1 wherein the support is positioned on top of the boom assembly 59. When in the working position a stop 80 locates the support at approximate right angles to the boom assembly 59. Rotation of the support 75 is accomplished through use of a conventional hydraulic rotator 81 that is fixed to the boom assembly 59 and is arranged to drive the shaft 79 which is rigidly secured to the support 75. Here again the rotator 81 is coupled by a hydraulic circuit (not shown) to the control panel 66 in order to provide for convenient actuation thereto on a selective basis.

A hoisting device indicated generally at 85 in FIG. 4 can be positioned at various stations along the boom assembly 59, and preferably comprised a compound carriage system including a upper carriage assembly 86 that is movable along the boom and a lower carriage assembly 87 that is movable at right angles to the boom. The upper carriage assembly 86 may be constituted by a plate 88 that is welded or otherwise secured to end flanges 89 and 90 (FIG. 6) having upwardly extending hanger brackets 91 that journal the respective shafts of

rollers

92 and 93 that ride on the outwardly extending

lips

94 and 95 of the

beams

68 and 69. A bracket 96 (FIG. 4) is also provided on the side of the plate 88 and is coupled by a pin 97 to the outer end of a hydraulic cylinder or ram 98 that has its inner end pinned to a bracket 99 on a cross piece 100 at the inner end of the boom 59. Preferably the cylinder 98 has a compound arrangement of

pistons

101 and 102 that are telescopically disposed one within the other so that the cylinder when completely retracted occupies a small dimension compared to its length when fully extended. Of course the cylinder 98 also is connected by a suitable hydraulic circuit to the aforementioned control panel 66 so that the operator can readily position the hoisting device 85 along the boom 59 at any desired station.

As previously mentioned, the lower carriage assembly 87 is suspended from the upper carriage assembly 86 and includes a channel member 104 as shown in FIG. 7 whose upwardly extending

sides

105 and 106 carry the shafts or

rollers

107 and 108 so that the rollers can ride on the outwardly extending lips 109 of a beam 110 that is rigidly secured by welding or the like to the lower face of the plate 88 of the upper carriage assembly 86. The lower carriage assembly 87 can be positioned transversely to the boom 59 by a hydraulic motor 11 1 (FIG. 6) having its piston 112 coupled to the channel member 104 at 113 and its cylinder suitably fixed to a lower portion 114 of the end flange 89. Hereagain the cylinder 111 is suitably coupled by hydraulic circuit to the control panel 66 so that actuation thereof functions to move the lower carriage assembly within limits transversely to the boom assembly 59.

The lower carriage 87 includes a winch 115 that is suitably driven by a hydraulically operated motor 116, the winch carrying a cable 117 that suspends a hook 118 together with a pipe sling 119 or the like. The spool 120 of the winch 115 is mounted on a driven shaft 121 that is coupled through typical gearing to the output of the motor 116. Of course the motor 116 is a reversible device with the hydraulic lines 122 extending to the op erators control panel 66 so that the winch can be utilized to raise and lower the hook 118. Of course although a pipe sling 119 is shown, it will be appreciated that any of the various impliments useful in handling materials may be connected to the cable depending upon the use being made of the vehicle.

In operation, the vehicle is conditioned for traveling by actuating the hydraulic rotator 81 to fold the outrigger support 75 to a position on top of the boom 59, whereupon the turret plate is rotated until the boom is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 1. A standard 130 fixed to the deck 48 of the rear unit 20 can be used to support the boom 59 with the mast cylinders 62 retracted. In the working position, on the other hand, the boom assembly 59 is disposed in the side position and the support is pivoted against the stop so that the foot 78 can rest upon the ground as shown in FIG. 8. The hoisting device can be positioned where needed along the boom assembly 59, and the hydraulic hoisting winch is operated to raise, lower and otherwise handle a load such as the pipe line 126 which is being laid in a trench 127. Where fore and aft positioning is necessary in order to make up pipe joints for welding or the like, the transverse cylinder 1 11 can be operated to appropriately position the lower carriage assembly 87.

The present invention is also adapted for loading or unloading materials on the deck 48 inasmuch as it will be appreciated that the boom 59 can be tilted upwardly to various angular positions with respect to the mast 57, and of course the turret plate 53 can be rotated as desired. The

cylinders

49 and 50 can be used to stabilize the deck 48 when the boom 59 is used in the tilted condition. The cable spool can be located along the boom by extending or retracting the cylinder 98 to correspondingly position the hoist 85, and can be fixed in any desired position by hydraulically locking the cylinder. Thus it will be apparent that the present invention has a variety of uses in connection with general hoisting operations, and is quite versatile in application.

The provision of the pivoted outrigger support 75 that can rest on the ground during working conditions and thus support the outer end of the boom assembly 59, obviates the need for using guy lines and heavy counter-weights as in the prior art, with attendant advantages as discussed above. Moreover, the fact that the support 75 can be positioned on top of the boom assembly 59 expedites use of the boom in a tilted condition, since the support will not interfere with the longitudinal position of the carriage assemblies and is otherwise out of the way of the articles being handled or loaded. The vehicle is highly mobile and adapted for operation in off-the-road conditions of almost any type of terrain.

Certain changes or modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, and not by way of limitation, the outrigger support may be made to be adjustable in length so as to accommodate different ground elevations with the boom still level. Also, although hydraulic cylinders have been shown as a mode for positioning the carriage assemblies, it will be appreciated that systems of cables and pulleys could be used to accomplish the same purpose. Thus it is the aim of the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications following within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for use in off-the-road hoisting operations, comprising: a vehicle unit having ground engaging means; an upright mast on said unit; boom means having one end pivotably attached to the said mast; hoist means movable longitudinally along said boom means and adapted for handling a load; support means pivotally attached to the other end of said boom means, said support means being adapted for pivotal rotation between a supporting position at right angles to said boom means where the lower end of said support means rests on the ground and provides vertical support, and a traveling position substantially parallel to and above said boom means; and selectively operable motor means for pivotally rotating said support means between said supporting position and said traveling position.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further including means for tilting said boom means to various angles of inclination with respect to horizontal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said hoist means includes an upper carriage assembly and a lower carriage assembly, said lower carriage assembly being movable transversely of said boom means.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 further including first selectively operable motor means for moving said hoist means longitudinally of said boom means and second selectively operable motor means for moving said second carriage means transversely of said boom means.

5. Apparatus for use in off-the-road hoisting operations, comprising: a mobile vehicle unit having ground engaging means; an upright mast on said unit; elongated boom means having one end pivoted to the upper end of said mast; means for rotating said mast and said boom means about a vertical axis to enable said boom means to be selectively disposed in a working position extending to the side of said unit and a traveling position aligned with the longitudinal axis of said unit; carriage means suspending an article handling device and being movable longitudinally along said boom means; support means pivoted to the other end of said boom means and adapted for pivotal rotation between a supporting position at right angles to said boom means where the lower end of said support means rests on the ground and provides vertical support, and a traveling position substantially parallel to and above said boom means; and selectively operable motor means for rotating said support means between said supporting position and said traveling position.

6. The apparatus of claim further including means for tilting said boom means to various angles of inclination with respect to horizontal.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said selectively operable means includes a hydraulic rotator fixed to said boom means and coupled to said support means.

for moving said second carriage transversely of said upper carriage and said boom means.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said first motor means includes a hydraulic cylinder having one end coupled to said carriage means and its other end coupled adjacent to said one end of said boom means, and said second motor means includes a hydraulic cylinder having one end coupled to said lower carriage and its other end coupled to said upper carriage.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 further including first roller and track means for suspending said upper carriage underneath said boom means, and second roller and track means for suspending said lower carriage underneath said upper carriage.

Claims

6. The apparatus of claim 5 further including means for tilting said boom means to various angles of inclination with respect to horizontal.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said carriage means comprises an upper carriage and a lower carriage, said upper carriage being suspended underneath said boom means and said lower carriage being suspended underneath said upper carriage.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further including first motor means for moving said carriage means longitudinally along said boom means, and lower motor means for moving said second carriage transversely of said upper carriage and said boom means.