US1718965A - Road-machine excavating and steering mechanism - Google Patents

Description

J. M. LARSH 1.718.965

ROAD MACHINE EXCAVATING AND STEERING MECHANISM July 2, 1929.

Original Filed Jan. 4, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 lalillllllu July 2, 1929. LARSH 1,718,965

ROAD MACHINE EXCAVATING AND STEERING MECHANISM Original Filed Jan. 4, 1926' s she -sheet 2 i w Irwenr; my

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y 2, 1929- J. M. LARSH 1.718.965

ROAD MACHINE EXCAVATING AND STEERING MECHANISM Original Filed Jan. 4, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 UNITED S TES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. LARSH, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOWILLIAI MODE TAYLOR AND ONE-FOUI tTH TO ULYSSESGRANTSMITH, BOTH OF INDIANAP- OLIS, INDIANA.

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Original application filed January 4,

This invention relates to mold boards for road machines, and the mechanism for steering the machine while the mold board is in use, and is a division of my application for a patent on a road making machine filed January 4, 1926, Serial 'No. 79,245.

One object of this invention is to provide a double suspension for the mold board from a two-part V-shaped draw-bar connected with the front of the machine by a single hinge and having a rear-end means for laterally adjusting that end of the draw-bar to correspondingly shift the mold-board.

A further object is to provide means, operated from the rear platform, for independently raising or lowering each member of the two-part draw-bar in order, thereby, to raise or lower the corresponding end ofthe mold-board.

Another object is to provide a resilient support from the body-frame for the moldboard, which will assist in and therebyreduce the labor of raising the mold-board off of the ground, as when it is desired to turn the road machine or haul it when not scraping the road, and which will assist in holding the mold-board against'the roadway while the road machine is at work.

a I accomplish the above principal objects and. other minor ones that will ereinafter appear, by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which ment in operative assembly therewith;

Fig. 1, is a top plan view of so much of a road machine as is essent al for the 1llustration of my 1nvent1on,-w1th my lmprove- Fig. 2, is a side elevation, with the rear wheels, and parts 'unessential to a clear understanding, removed, but with my invention shown as in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, is a detail in vertical section, on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4, of the connection between the rear axle and draw-bar of the machine; Fig. .4, is an elevation and vertical sec-.

tion of same from the line 4+4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5, is a detail of the mold board rais ing and lowering mechanism, and

Fig. '6, 182. view in cross section on the i line 66, of the Fig. 5; Fig. 7,a cross section on the line 7--7 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 8, is a detail in section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 is the body frame of the machine, 2, 2, are the front road wheels, and 3, 3,,arethe'rear road wheels. 1s the mold board .4. Depending from the bpdy frame is a segmental rack 5, with which a plnlon' 6 engages to move the rack and rock the frame. The body frame is rockably hinged on a front end middle shaft 200, and a rear middle shaft 201 shown 1 n dotted lines in Fig. 2. The shafts are ournaled in suitable cross members of the frameand in adjacent box members from which, diagonal braces 202 at the middle of the machine extend down and are fastened to the draw-bar in front and to the axle in i the rear. This rear axle is formed out of twoparallel angle bars 12, 12. The wheels 2, 2, are mounted on axlestubswhich'a-re attached by knuckles 52 with a lever- 53 which is pivoted to a front axle 35 that is not skewable relative to the body-framel for steering purposes, but the steering is accomplished by means hereafter to be described.

have longitudinal slots 39 for the passe. e of the shaft and-on one projecting end 0 the shaft a worm wheel 40 is mounted and is driven by a worm 41 on a shaft 42, which carries a bevel wheel 43 that is driven by a pinion 44 on a vertical shaft 45. A bevel wheel 46 on shaft 45 is driven by a pinion 47 on a shaft 48. The latter terminates above the rear axle and is provided with a hand crank 49. The shaft 48 has universal joints 50, 50, to prevent cramping of the shaft which might otherwise be caused by irre ularities in road surface over which the mac ine often travels. The wheels 2,2, are mounted on stubs which are connected by vertical pivots in spindles 52, 52, which are supported by bracket extensions from respective vertical arms 53, 53, whichare attached to the front Between the front and rear wheels I axle 35 pivots 5 1-, 54. The manner of turning the front wheels for steering the 'which engages it. a

machine will be hereinafter described.

' The arms 53, 53, are connected by ball and socket joints 55, 55, at their upper ends, with a horizontal rack bar 6. This rack bar is normally held from longitudinal movement with the axle 35 by a spur gear wheel 57, The shaft for the spur gear is journaled in'a housing 58, suspended on rollers 59' from the top of the rack bar 56. and is free to move vertically with the bar 56 but is held byvertical frame bars 72 from movement longitudinally of bar 56, with one result, that when the axle 35 is shifted longitudinally, the wheels 2, 2, are

tilted because the upper ends of arms 53, 53

- are held from corresponding movement by little-to conform the wheels with the lateral slope of the road-grade I provide a rectifying means which additionally utilizes the rack-bar 5.6 and car 57. The shaft 59, car- 'rying the gear w eel 57 has a gear wheel 60,

that'is operated by a worm 61' mounted on a shaft 62'journaled in brackets depending from shaft 59 (see Fig. 8) and a bevel wheel 63 on shaft'62 is driven by a bevel pinion 64, on a vertical shaft 65. lhe shaft 65 has a universal joint 66, and is also in two telescoping sectlons as shown, to allowfor variations in shaft-len h and shaft-positions which occur, a beve wheel ,67 at the top of shaft 65 is driven by a bevel pinion 68 on a shaft 69, that extends 'rearwardly and terminates with a handcrank' 70 in convenient reach of the operator on the rear platform The shaft 69 has two universal joints 71, as shown in Fig. 1 to keep the shaft from binding when. the machine is on uneven roads. By a proper manipulation of hand crank 70 the rack bar 56 canbe moved longitudinally of itself in either direction to change the angular relation of wheels 2, 2, to the road surface and the bar 56 can tilt on the gear wheel as a pivot when the machine is moving over uneven ground, without moving the bar longitudinally.

A draw-bar 71', see Figs..1, and 2, is attached to vertical angle-bar standards 72. (It-is to this draw bar that-a second draw bar is connected that carries the-mold board,

as will be hereinafter described.) Connected with the front end of draw 71' by a link 73, is a tongue 74, the front. end of which is free to swing about link '73, as a hinge, and pivoted under the rear end of steering tongue 74 is a draft tongue 75 the front end of which is attached to a tractor or other draft power (not shown). The weight of tongue 74 is resiliently supported from the body-frame 1 by a spring hitch 76. Slidingly mounted in a suitable horizontal opening in tongue 74 is a box-81 through which slides a pair of channel bars 77, 77, having a rack-bar 78 in the channel of the upper one, which rack-bar is in engagement with a spur gear wheel 79. The shaft 80- (see Fig. 1) of the spur gear wheel is suitably journaled in the box 81 on the tongue and carries a worm-wheel 82 which is driven by a worm 83 on the lower end of a vertical shaft 84. The box 81 has a vertical pin 180 which passes between the tongue and a guide-bar 151. The shaft 84, as shown in Fig. 2, is in two telescoping members and has a universal joint 85, and the shaft terminates with a bevel wheel 86 that is driven by a bevel pinion 87 on a shaft 88 that extends back to a crank 89 above latform 34. The shaft 88 has the universal oints 90, 90. When the crank 89 is turned the rack-bar 78, by the action of the intervening mechanism above described, 'is correspondingly moved longitudinally through the tongue, and it is obvious that by suitably connecting the ends of the channel bars 77 with which rack bar 78 is fastened, with the axle studs on which the front wheels 2, 2, are mounted, the latter will be turned in directions to steer the machine. To this end the axle stubs are formed with forwardly projecting arms 91, 91, see Fig. 2 and these are connected by link-bars 100, 100, with the respective ends of the channel bars 77. The link-bars preferably comprise vertical joints 101, 101. The bar 78 and box 81 move longitudinally of the tongue in adjustment required by the swing of the front wheels '2, 2.

To revent injury to the machine by contact o afront wheel or its hub with a pole or other road obstructions I provide a release in the form of a breakable pin 180 of wood or the like, which will break and allow the contacting members to give way when the strain exceeds the resistance of the pin, and the breakage is repaired by insertin a new pin.

I Wlll now describe the draw-bar construction that takes the main working load and strain of the machine; also the attachment to it of the mold board.

The draw-bar to which the mold board is attached is preferably in two parts 101, 101, the forward ends of which meet and are attached to an eye-bolt 102, which is hinged to a loop fastened to the rear of draw-bar 71, to t e front of which the draft tongue circular angle-bar 106, and this bar 105 is secured to the block 104 by a pivot-pin 107. Fixed to the bar 105, concentricallyof pin 107, is a wheel 108 having an annular row of side cogs 109 which are engaged by a cogged wheel 110, on a shaft 111 thatextends back under platform 34 and terminates with a foot-wheel 112, the upper portion of which projects far enough through the platform to allow the wheel and shaft to be rotated by foot movement of the operator. A suitable locking mechanism (not shown) may be used if necessary to prevent accidental rotation of. the wheel 112. l The ends of the semicircular angle ba 106 turn down and provide the attaching means for a mold board 4, of usual construction, the angular adjustment of which across the machine is secured by the above described mechanism controlled by the foot wheel 112, and a required adjustment so secured is retained, by passing a pin 113 through. one of a series of hole 114 in the vertical flange of the"angle-bar 106. The

- pin 113 is mounted in brackets 115 depending from the draw bars 101, 101. It is pressed into engagement with the holes in the flange by a spring 116 see Fig 2 and is withdrawn by a foot lever 168 pivoted in the platform 34 and connected with the pin by a cable 117.

Pivoted-to the rearends of both draw bar members 101, 101, is a yoke 118, having a rearwardly extending stem upon which a tube 119 is fastened. Telescoping into the tube from its rear end is a second tube the rear end of which is pivoted to ears integral with a plate 120 see Figs. 3 and 4, which has sliding adjustment on the head of a T.

' bar 121 which is bolted tothe horizontal flange of the front angle bar which com- 4 prises a part of the rear axle. The plate has '50 top andbottom hook edges to receive the head of the bar 121 as shown in Fig. 3. The

tube adjacent to plate 120, has a universal joint as shown in Fig. 2, or a ball and socket joint as shown in Fig. 3, to afford-the necessary adjustments and freedom of movementof parts. The plate 120 ispositioned and removing bolt 123 and screwing the threa ed bolt 124 into the female'link member 125. This avoids twisting the chain, which is further kept in condition by passing around pulleys 126, 126, at the ends of .bar 121 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

I will now describe the mechanism for lowering and raising the mold board as a, whole or at either end. The weight of the body-frame and parts attached thereto is utilized for forcing the mold-board into the road surface and for holding it there.' This weight is applied through mechanism duplicated for each draw- bar member 101, 101, and as they are both alike, a description of one will sulfice for both.

- This comprises a substantially vertical rack-bar 127, the lower .end of which is pivoted to and between a pair of angle- bars 128, 128, upon and connecting the rear end of members 101, 101. This connection as shown in Fig. 2, is a universal joint, but it may be a ball-and-sockc't joint, thereby allowing the toothed upper portion of the rack bar to remain always in mesh with a gear wheel 130 mounted in journals supported by members 131 which latterare supported from the body-frame 1." Figure 6 illustrates the channeled construction of the rack-bar on its outer side to receive a friction rollei- 132, and on the opposite side to receive the gear 130 and hold the latter on the cogs of the rack-bar. The bar is also channeled toreceive flanges of vertical angle bar guides 133. The gear wheel 130 is mounted on-a shaft 1.35 which extends rearwardly to a suitable on this rear end of the shaft is a wormon a short counter shaft 138 having a hand wheel 139' mounted on its inner end for the manual lifting and'lowering of the moldboard. I l

Fig. 5, also illustrates myimproved spring-mechanism which assists in lifting the mold-board off of the ground in one position of a lever 134, moving with the gear wheel 130, but which acts oppositely to pull the mold-board down when lever 134'is in the lower arc of its circle of movement.

The lever 134 is shown in Fig. 5 in fullf point above the platform 34,'and mounted lines .in position of maximum elevation of the mold-board to assist in elevating the; mold-board, by the action of a spring 135 coiled around a fixed stud 136 and having an arm extension 137'. A cable 138' has an end attached to the end of arm 137'. It passes down and under a pulley 178, and thence up to the end of lever 134, to which it is attached through a clevis 135. When,'by manually rotating the gear-wheel 130 by the means described, 'in a direction contra clockwise to raise the mold-board, the pull of the spring on lever 134 has assisted in raising it; and to lower the mold-board from the position of the gear and lever in the drawing, the spring counter-balances the -weight of the blade until the'lever 134 has passed the extension of a line drawn through .tension oft-he spring.

Attention is called to the fact that the front axle is a supporting member, only,-and is not skew-able as heretofore, to assist in steering the machine. But the front road wheels are mounted on studs which are connected by knuckles with the respective ends of the front axle, and are turned on said knuckles, in very much shorter circles than,

would obtain were the steering done by skewing the front axle in the old way, with the advantage that more room is left for the adjustment and operation of the mold board without interfering contact with the front wheels.

Having-thus described this invention what I claim is 1. In a road making machine, a draft tongue, a draft bar to which the tongue is attached, a'second draft-bar attached to the first one and extending rearwardly thereof, the last draft bar being in two rearwardly diverging members, a pivot block extending transversely of the machine and attached to both of the diverging members intermediate their ends, a mold-board pivotally connected with'the pivot block, means to secure and retain a rotary adti'ustment of the mold-board on its pivot, an means in duplicate at the rear of the pivot transmitting the weight of the machine to the two diverged members of the second draft-bar to hold the scraper blade in the ground. I

2. In a road machine, a draft tongue, a draft bar to which the tongue is attached, a second draft-bar attached to the'first one and extending rearwardly thereof, the last the mold-board on its pivot, a yoke hinged to the rear ends of the two diverging draw bar members, said yoke being movable to swing the draw bar laterally of the machine to laterally adjust the working position of the mold-board.

3. In a road making machine, a body- .frame a mold-board below the frame, means comprising a rack and gear wheel for lowermg and raising the mold-board, an armlnoving with the gear wheel, a spring and means cooperating with the spring and arm for utilizing the action of the spring to force the mold-board into the ground in one relation of said last means with the spring and for lifting the mold'board in another relation of said last means with the s ring.

4. In a road making machine, a frame a mold board below the frame, means comprising a rack and gear wheel for lowering and raising the'mold-board, a spring having an arm, a lever rocking with the gear wheel and means comprising a cable connecting the arm and lever to cause the spring to assist in raising the mold-board in one position of the lever and to influence the mold-board ina reverse direction in another position of the lever.

5. In a road making machine, a body- 'frame, a mold-board, means comprising an arm for lowering and raising the moldboard, a sprin and means cooperating with the spring an arm for utilizing the action of the spring to force the mold-board into theground in one relation of said. last means with the spring and for lifting the mold-board in another relation of said last means with the spring.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOHN M. LARSH.

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