GB2339220A

GB2339220A - A ground excavating machine

Info

Publication number: GB2339220A
Application number: GB9814583A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Hartley; Jonathan William Hargreaves
Original assignee: Sisis Equipment; Sisis Equipment Macclesfield Ltd
Current assignee: Sisis Equipment; Sisis Equipment Macclesfield Ltd
Priority date: 1998-06-07
Filing date: 1998-06-07
Publication date: 2000-01-19
Also published as: GB9814583D0

Description

2339220 A GROUND EXCAVATING MACHINE THIS INVENTION relates to equipment

for narrow excavation particularly of sports grounds or the like to enable the insertion of drainage pipe or sand/gravel lines. Such equipment which usually is provided with a cutting tool in the form of an excavating chain or cutting wheel to penetrate the ground, may be towed, usually by a tractor providing powered drive to the cutting tool.

Machines of this kind typically cut trenches of up to 20 centimetres wide and up to 150 centimetres deep, or in some cases the trench may be only 5 centimetres wide and in the region of 38 centimetres deep.

The spoil produced by such a machine must not be permitted to re-enter the cut trench or slit and must be conveyed away and preferably elevated into a collection container or redistributed over the ground at a position remote from the trench.

According to the present invention a ground excavating machine comprises a driven tool adapted to penetrate and elevate sub-surface ground materials to produce a trench; characterised by an elevating conveyor disposed above and at a level close to the ground surface to receive spoil from the tool and to convey it to an elevated position.

Two embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. I illustrates a trenching tool adapted to be towed by a tractor; Fig. 2 illustrates a similar tool but adapted to cut a much narrower and less deep trench; and Fig. 3 is a rear view taken on lines III-111 of Figs. 1 and 2, of an elevating conveyor adapted to dispose of spoil from the cut trench.

Referring now to Fig. 1 a ground excavating machine is illustrated generally at 10 and comprises a wheeled carriage 11 adapted to be towed by and to receive drive from a tractor (not shown). The drive is taken up by a shaft 12 and via a chain transmission is adapted to drive a trenching tool 13 comprising a series of excavating and elevating teeth 14 mounted in a continuous series on elevating chains thus to produce a trench 15 removing subsurface ground materials 16 to the surface.

In Fig. 2, the trenching tool 13 is replaced by a cutting wheel 17 having teeth 18 for similarly elevating the sub-surface ground materials 16. In this case, the cutting wheel 17 is driven once again from the drive shaft 12 and appropriate transmission chain.

In both embodiments the carriage I I is ground-supported on a roller 20 and connected by a bracket 21 to a towing tractor.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, to the rear of the carriage in Figs. I and 2 there is provided a chain elevator having a chamber 22 within which is located a transfer chain 23 carrying spaced blades or paddles 24 which, within a casing 25 serve to elevate the sub-surface spoil 16 received directly from the teeth 14, 18 of the cutting tool and collected in the chamber 22 where they emerge from the cut trench. As can be seen in Figs. I and 2 the spoil enters the chamber 22 and is elevated from any position therein by the blades 24 between the latter and the inner wall of casing 25, in a direction generally transverse to the direction of operation of the machine thus to deposit the spoil onto the ground at the side of the machine. If preferred, the casing 25 can be extended to elevate the spoil to a higher level from which it may be deposited into a trailer or other collecting vessel. The chain elevator is driven as illustrated at 26 by a drive taken from the drive shaft 12 through a gear box 27.

Thus, a reliable spoil removal system is provided on a trenching tool, which collects the spoil and conveys it away from that part of the ground over which the machine is intended to travel, without the need for the spoil to be deposited onto the top of a conventional elevator/conveyor. Also, the chain elevator serves to reduce the fraction size of the spoil, which is particularly useful when dealing with dense clay.

4 - P57639

Claims

A ground excavating machine comprising a driven tool adapted to penetrate and elevate sub-surface ground materials to produce a trench; characterised by an elevating conveyor disposed above and at a level close to the ground surface to receive spoil from the tool and to convey it to an elevated position.
2. A ground excavating machine according to Claim 1, wherein the elevating conveyor operates in a direction generally transverse to the direction of operation of the tool thus to convey the spoil towards one side of the machine.
3. A ground excavating machine according to Claim 2, in which the conveyor includes a casing and moving blades or paddles adapted to elevate the spoil to an elevated position from which it may be deposited into a trailer or other collecting vessel.
4. A ground excavating machine according to Claim 1, being ground-supported on a roller and adapted to be connected by a bracket to a towing tractor, drive from the tractor being connected to--the- driven tool on the machine.
5. A ground excavating machine according to Claim 1, in which the elevating conveyor comprises a chamber within which is located a transfer chain carrying spaced blades or paddles which, within the chamber, serve to elevate the spoil received directly from the cutting tool at a position where they emerge from the cut trench.
6. A ground excavating machine according to Claim 1, wherein the driven tool comprises a series of excavating and elevating teeth mounted on a continuous series of elevating chains.
7. A ground excavating machine according to Claim 1, wherein the driven tool is a cutting wheel having peripheral elevating teeth.
8. A ground excavating machine according to Claim 1, wherein the driven tool and the elevating conveyor are connected to a common drive source.
9. A ground excavating machine substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figs. I and 3 or Figs. 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.