US2024557A - Excavating machinery - Google Patents

Description

17,1935. L wHlTE EXCAVATING MACHINERY FiledApril '5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HIS ATTORNEYS L. WHITE 2,024,557

EXCAVATING MACHINERY Filed April 3, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY Q HIS ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 17, 1935 UNITED sires :PATNT OFi-iCE EXCAVATING MACHINERY Louis White, Wilmington, 111.

Application April 3, 1934, Serial N0. 718,837

3 Claims.

nection with the hoist line and anarrangement in which the pull transmitted to the boom during the loading of a bucket is applied to the boom remote from its outer end.

A further object is to provide a machine in which the dipper may be effectively controlled for loading purposes without the use of the usual dipper sticks, and in which the necessity'for boom-mounted motors is entirely elim nated.

Another object is to provide an arrangement in which an unlimited amount of power may be utilized for loading purposes in connection with a boom of relatively long reach.

A further object is to provide an excavating machine in which the bucket is loaded by an upward and outward movement with respect to the boom, and in which I attain the long spoiling range characterizing drag line devices.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the app-ended claims.

In describing my invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a. part of the power mechanism;

Fig. l is a sectional elevation taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the bucket illusirating its bails in conjunction with the drag, hoist and loading lines;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of a boom embodying a plurality of load line sheaves; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view along the line 7-1 of Fig. 6.

,In the embodiment selected to illustrate my invention, I make use of a power plant Ill mount-= ed for rotary movement upon a sup-porting truck in the usual way. This truck comprises in part caterpillar threads l2. One end of a boom i4 is pivotally connected at l6 with the power plant. This boom may be moved for changing its angularity with respect tothe horizontal through the medium of supporting cables I8. 7

In strip mining it is desirable to provide a boom having a relatively long reach so that a large. spoiling range may be attained. Heretofore the pull exerted on the boom during the loading of the dipper has been applied to the outer end 01 the boom, with the result that the effective leverage tending to tilt the power plant would materially limit the length of the boom. Then, too, 10 conventional excavating machines embody boommounted motors which increase in a large measure the effective load, in addition to requiring a boom structure of heavy design. The conventional dipper sticks add to the load. All these features combined make it impossible to design a boo-m embodying the necessary strength in com bination with a relatively long reach such as that characterizing the present invention. If the boom is designed to provide the necessary strength, it becomes too heavy; and if, it is designed within certain limits as to weight, it lacks the necessary strength. a

In the instant case the bucket is loaded by an upward and outward movement with respect to the boom through the medium of a load line 28 connected with the bail 22 associated with a bucket 24. I arrange the line 29 to pass over a, supporting sheave 2B and in operative relation with a guide sheave 23 arranged to hold the line out 3.0 of contact with the frame structure of the boom when the dipper is moved outwardly along the boom. The supporting sheave 26 is positioned at a considerable distance inwardly of the boom. This line is connected with an operating drum 3% 3- In Fig. 2 I illustrate the machine as moving over the excavated surface 32 and operating against the bank 34 comprising material to be moved. Additional control for the bucket 24 comprises a drag line 36 connected with the bucket through the medium of a sheave 38 carried by a bail 4i! pivotally connected with the bucket at 42. One end of the drag line is connected with a drum .44, and the other end is connected with a drum 65.

The hoist line 48 passes around a sheave 50 carried by a bail 52 attached to the bail part 54 through the medium of chains 58. This bail. is pivotally connected with the bucket at 42. One end of the hoist line is connected with the outer end of the boom M, as at 58, and passes over a sheave 6D for connection with the drum 4%. Referringto Fig. 3, it will be noted that the drum 46 is provided with a flange 62 arranged to separate the convolutions of the hoist line 48 from the convolutions of the drag line 36. 55

In operation, the power plant is maintained at a proper operating distance from the bank 34. The bucket is loaded by giving the drag line 36 the necessary slack and positioning the bucket at the bottom of the bank 34. At this time the loading line 20 is shortened through the medium of the drum 30 for pulling the open end of the bucket into the bank 34 upwardly and outwardly with respect to the outer end of the boom I4. The pull transmitted to the boom I4 during the loading of the bucket is determined by the position of the pulleys 26 and 28. In placing the pulleys close to the power plant with respect to the outer end of the boom I4, I shorten the lever tending to tilt the power plant.

The arrangement further permits the entire length of the loading cable 20 between the bail 22 and the pulley 26 to assume a position substantially paralleling the face of the bank 34. Thus, the boom I4 may extend a considerable distance beyond the top of relatively high banks without interfering with the efilcient operation of the bucket. A slight tension may be placed in the hoist line 48 during the loading period to control the angularity of the dipper 24. Thus I attain an effective control of the dipper without the use of dipper sticks and boom-mounted motors.

After the bucket 24 has been loaded, it is moved through the medium of the hoist cable 48 and dumped. The pivotal connections 42 are positioned in such a manner that the loaded bucket tends to tip in the direction of the arrow 64 when the load line 20 is slackened. However, a slight tension is maintained on the load line during the shifting of the bucket to the end of the boom so that the bucket will carry in its upright position. After the bucket has been shifted to the end of the boom I4, it is emptied by slackening the line 20, at which time the bail 22 swings back over the top of the bucket with the load line 20 passing over a roller 66 carried by the bail 54.

In Figs. 3 and 4, I have indicated the transmission machinery for operating the drums 38, 44 and 46. The drum 46 is carried by a shaft 61 and is provided with a conventional clutch 68 and a large gear 10 connected with the shaft and arranged in mesh with a gear 12 connected with a shaft I4 driven by a reversible motor I6. A gear 18 associated with the gear 10 is arranged in mesh with a large gear 80 connected with a shaft 8I and associated with a conventional clutch 82 for operating the drum 44. The shaft 8| is provided with a gear 84 upon its opposite end in association with a larger gear 86. The gear 84 is arranged in mesh with a gear 88 connected with a shaft 89 for operating the drum 30. A conventional clutch 98 is associated with the gear 88 and the drum 36.

I illustrate a gear 92 upon the opposite end of the shaft 61 in connection with a second clutch 94 for operating the drum 46 when the clutch 68 is inoperative. The meshing gears 86 and 92 are of different ratios than the gears 88 and I8 so that the drum 46 may be operated at two different speeds, depending upon which clutch is used.

My arrangement is such that the drums 30 and 46 wind up the load line 20 and the hoist line 48 at the same speed that the drum 46 unwinds the drag cable 36. During the loading period the drum 44 is braked against rotation but may be operated to tighten the drag line. This feature provides additional control for the dipper in that it may be pulled away from the bank 34, to permit swinging of the boom, should the dipper become loaded before it has moved to the top of the bank. However, the drum 44 may be operated in either direction when the drums 30 and 46 are inactive. Similarly, the drums 30 and 46 may be individually operated in the same way as the drum 44.

I provide rollers 96 for protecting the drag line 36 from being damaged by contact with the frame structure of the power plant.

Suitable brakes 98, I88 and I02 may be asso-, ciated with the drums 30, 44 and 46, respectively.

The sheaves 38 and 50 may be of the padlock type to prevent the lines 36 and 50 from falling off their respective sheaves during operation of the machinery.

Fig. 6 illustrates a boom I04 having a series of sheave units I06, I08, and H6 each including sheaves I I 2 and I I4 corresponding to the sheaves 26 and 23, respectively, in Fig. 2, to provide sheave mountings positioned at different points along the boom with respect to the power plant. Such a construction provides a large range of adjustment which may easily be made by merely associating the loading line with the desired series.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully explain my invention that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

I claim:

1. An excavating device comprising a boom having an end movably connected with a supporting structure, a bucket, a load line connected with the loading end of the bucket, a rotatable member carried by the boom and positioned intermediate its ends for supporting the load line, the bucket being loaded by a movement outwardly of the boom, a hoist line connected with the bucket, a rotatable member carried by the boom at its free end for supporting the hoist line, and power means for operating said load and hoist lines.

2. An excavating device comprising a boom having an end movably connected with a supporting structure, a bucket, a load line connected with the loading end of the bucket, a rotatable member carried by the boom and positioned intermediate its ends for supporting the load line, the bucket being loaded by a movement outwardly of the boom, a hoist line connected with the bucket, a rotatable member carried by the boom at its free end for supporting the hoist line, power means for operating said load and hoist lines, a drag line connected with said bucket for moving the same inwardly of the boom, and power means for operating the drag line.

3. An excavating device comprising a boom having an end movably connected with a supporting structure, a bucket, a load line connected with the loading end of the bucket, a plurality of rotatable members carried by the boom and positioned intermediate its ends for individually supporting the load line at different points along the boom, the bucket being loaded by a movement outwardly of the boom, a hoist line connected with the bucket, a rotatable member carried by the boom at its free end for supporting the hoist line, and power means for operating said load and hoist lines.

LOUIS WHITE.

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