US2770266A - Hydraulic lift for the saw boom of tractor operated saws - Google Patents

Description

0 SAWS R. C. WAY

Nov. 13, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 7, 1955 INVENTOR. 0133.

y 0 w a w 0a Y B NQN mm R p, \Q KN QN wQ mm mm I l T Nov. 13, 1956 R. c. WAY 2,770,256

HYDRAULIC LIFT FOR THE SAW BOOM OF TRACTOR OPERATED SAWS Filed April '7, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 kvgjimz I Kw 302 F Fig.2

INVENTOR.

BY WM FM Roy 0. Way

INVENTOR.

Nov. 13, 1956 2,770,266

HYDRAULIC LIFT FOR THE SAW BOOM OF TRACTOR OPERATED SAWS C. WAY

Filed April 7, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 13, 1956 R. c. WAY 2,770,266

' HYDRAULIC LIFT FOR THE SAW BOOM OF TRACTOR OPERATED SAWS 116d Apll I, 4 shee S-Sheet 4 aaa Fig. 7 3r5 360 386 Roy 6. Way

INVENTOR.

9 BY (W 3 United States Patent HYDRAULIC LIFT FOR THE SAW BOOM OF TRACTOR OPERATED SAWS Roy C. Way, Tennessee, Ill.

Application April 7, 1955, Serial No. 499,933

6 Claims. (Cl. 143-43 My invention relates to improvements in hydraulic lift mechanism for the saw booms of tractor operated saws forming the subject matter of my U. S. Patent No. 2,575,696, dated November 20, 1951.

By way of premise, in the tractor operated saw of my above patent, a saw boom is swingable vertically by an encircling annular carriage vertically movable in an armate guide mounted on the tractor.

The primary object of my invention is to provide improved hydraulic means for lifting the carriage at opposite sides thereof so as to prevent binding of the carriage on the guide.

Another object is to provide hydraulic means for the above purpose in the form of lift cables exerting uniform lifting force against opposite sides of the carriage.

Still another object is to provide hydraulic means for the above purposes which is adapted for installation on the tractor and attachment to the carriage without appreciably increasing the cost of manufactureof the tractor operated saw and which is safe, reliable and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and install.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter de scribed and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view partly broken awayand shown in section of the tractor saw equipped with my improved hydraulic lift mechanism;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in front elevation partly in section of the hydraulic lift mechanism;

Figure 3 is a further enlarged fragmentary view in front elevation of the hydraulic lift mechanism;

Figure 4 is a view in horizontal section taken on the line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary view in perspective of the hydraulic lift mechanism, partly broken away;

Figure 6 is an enlarged view in front elevation of the carriage and parts of the hydraulic lift mechanism thereon; and

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view in horizontal section taken through the carriage and guide and showing the carriage locking means.

Referring to the drawings by numerals on the tractor operated saw With which my improvements are concerned, a horizontal frame 24 extends along the right hand side of the tractor 10 from the rear axle housing 16 to which it is fastened by U-bolts 22 and also fastened at its front end by means, not shown, to the chassis frame of the tractor. A journaled power shaft 28 extends forwardly from the rear end of the frame 24 through bearings 26 and a speed control box 27 on the frame and is driven by a belt and pulley drive 36 from the rear power take-off 18 of the tractor under control of a clutch on the shaft 28 operated by a hand lever 34.

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The saw boom comprises a tubular shaft housing 106 extending forwardly from the front end of the power shaft 28 and inclining forwardly and outwardly at an oblique angle thereto and to the tractor with a rear end swivelly mounted by a hollow universal joint 40 on the frame, so that saw boom 105 is swingable laterally and rotatable axially to variably position for cutting operations a circular saw 118 the arbour 114 of which is journaled in a gear box 108 on the front end of said housing 106.

A saw drive shaft 110 extends through and is journaled in the shaft housing 106 with its front end operatively connected to the saw 118 and its rear end universally connected in the universal joint 40 to the power shaft 28, all as disclosed in my aforesaid patent and for driving of the saw 118 by said shaft 28 and swinging of said shaft 110 with said boom. The annular carriage 50 (Fig. 2) encircles the boom 105 in upright position and crosswise thereof and is mounted for guided vertical movement by a radial shoe 48 vertically slidable in a channel guide 42 fixed in upright position on the frame 24 and curving in an arc concentric to the axis of the universal joint 40 for vertical adjustment in said guide 42 concentrically of the joint 40. The carriage 50 inclines rearwardly so that it is disposed in a vertical plane at a right angle to the planes in which the boom 105 swings and together with a sectional retaining ring 88 bolted to one side thereof, as at 87, forms an annular guide for an annular carrier 84 rotatable therein to rotate the boom 105 about its axis for tilting the saw 118 laterally. A manually operable crank shaft 94 extends rearwardly from the carriage 50 and is journaled in a bearing bracket 90 on said carriage and operatively connected to said carrier 84 to rotate the same by means disclosed in my aforesaid Patent No. 2,575,696.

A cross-head 104 through which the boom 105 rotatably extends is slidably mounted on and between a pair of transverse guides 102 in the carrier 84. A pair of brace arm-s 120 (Fig. I) extend rearwardly from the carrier 84 on opposite sides of and spaced from the boom 105 and are attached at rear ends thereof to brackets fixed on the boom 105. Another brace arm 103 extends rearwardly from the carriage 50 and is pivoted, as at 107, on a bracket 109 on the frame 24.

A hydraulic cylinder 138 mounted on the boom 105 has a piston rod 140 operating cables as at trained around pulleys, as at 136, and operatively connected as shown in said Patent No. 2,575,696 to the cross-head 104 to slide the same and thereby swing the boom 105 laterally in the carrier 84 to correspondingly swing the saw 118. Pressure is supplied to opposite ends of cylinder 138 by conduits 158, leading from a control valve 162 on the tractor 10 suitably communicated with a conventional pump and reservoir 164 on said tractor 10.

Collars 202 on the rear axle housing 16 of the tractor 10 on opposite sides of said tractor have suitably secured thereto the rear ends of forwardly extending tubular members 204 in the front ends of which the rear ends of a skeleton U-shaped saw guard 208 are detachably bolted, as at 205, said guard straddling the saw 118. A

inverted channel form extending laterally from the support 300 and the tractor 10 to overlie the carriage 50. The cross-bar 302 is of zig-zag form longitudinally (Fig. 4) so that it is provided with front and rear, outboard .and inboard ends 304, 306 at a right angle to the support 300 and substantially vertically aligned with opposite outboard and inboard sides 301, 303 (Fig. 6) of the carriage 50 while its intermediate portion 308 is substantially coplanar with said carriage i Inverted V-shaped braces 310 suitably fixed to and rising from the upper end of the support Still and riveted, as at 312, to opposite sides of the cross-bar3tl2 support said bar in horizontal position at a substantial distance above the guide 42 and carriage 50.

A hydraulic cylinder 314 (Figs. 2, 4 and 5) in the rear of the support 3% is vertically slidable on a cylindrical guide collar 3 16 fixed to an intermediate portion-of an upright guide rod 318 rising from the frame 24 and extending through the ends 320 of said cylinder which are slidable on said rod 318. The upper end of rod 318 is fixed by a bolt 322 between a pair of lugs 325 depending from the top of the cross-bar 3 32, whereas the lower end of said rod 318 is fixed by an arm 326 on the standard 300.

The cylinder 314 forms a pressure responsive bodily movable operating means for exerting, upon its downward stroke, pull on a pair of carriage lift cables 323, 330 (Fig. 4) for the outboard and inboard sides 391., 393 of carriage 5% arranged as now to be described.

A pair of horizontally aligned idler pulleys 332, 334 are carried by the cylinder 31.4 at opposite sides thereof in upstanding yokes, as at 336, pivoted, as at 338 (Fig. 2), on said cylinder. A cable wind-up reel 34rd extends transversely in the front end 394 of the cross-bar 392 and is journaled in U-shaped bearing brackets 342 riveted, as at 344, to opposite sides of said bar 382. A cable wind-up reel 348 is iournaled transversely in the rear end 3% of said bar 362 with an idler pulley 356) on one end, said reel 348 being journaled in U-shaped bearing brackets 352 riveted, as at 354, to opposite sides of the cross-bar 3'92. Front and rear horizontal idler pulleys 356, 358 are journaled in horizontal position in the intermediate portion 398 of said bar M2.

The cables 323, have upper ends fixed to and wound upon the reels 349, 343 for winding up thereon and lower ends fixed, as at 329, 331, to the lower ends of upright arcuate grooved cable guides 36%), 362 on the outboard and inboard sides of the carriage 50 and in grooves of which said cables are'disposed.

A pair of reel operating cables 3:54, 366 have their upper ends attached to eye bolts see, 379 in the crossbar 3&2 and are trained downwardly and upwardly around the idler pulleys 352, 334 to form loops 37 374 in which said pulleys 332, 334 pull downwardly. The reel operating cable 364 extends from its loop 372 over the idler pulley 350 and opposite sides of the idler pulleys 3356, 358 and is wound upon and attached to the reel 34d to operate the same in one direction. The cable 366 extends from its loop 374 upwardly to and is fixed to and wound around reel 348 to operate the same in one direction.

Hydraulic flexible pressure lines 37%, 3'72 connect opposite ends of the cylinder 314- to a pressure control valve 374 (Fig. l) on the tractor llt'l communicating with the beforcmentioned pump and reservoir 164.

Means for locking the carriage in vertically adjusted positions comprises a hand lever 376 (Fig. 7) fixed as at 378 on the shoe 48 and having a hand grip 33d pivoted thereto, as at 332, and operatively connected to a latch rod 386 guided in a lug 388 (Fig. 2) on said lever, and spring loaded, as at 3%, to enter a hole 392 in said shoe 48 when registered with one of a series of vertically spaced holes 394 in the channel guide 42.

The beforementioned tubular members 264 extend across the top of the crossbar 302 and are fixed thereto by eye bolts 396, 398 (Fig. l).

A diagonal brace rod 409 is provided for attachment in the coupling 210 and connection by an eye bolt 492 on top of the cross-bar 302 to brace said cross-bar when the guard 208 is detached as occasion may require.

The operation of the hydraulic lift will be readily understood. The cylinder 314 moves downwardly, responsive to pressure in its upper end, from an intermediate normal position. Such movement of the cylinder 314 exerts pull on the reel operating cables 364, 366 to operate the reels 34-0, 348 clockwise as viewed, for instance, in Figures 2, 3 and 5 to wind up the carriage lift cables 323, 330 to lift the carriage 50 at both sides. As will be obvious, when the cylinder moves upwardly in response to pressure in its lower end, the loops 372, 374 shorten and the carriage 50 descends under the influence of gravity.

It is to be noted that because the carriage 50 is not in a plane of with respect to the plane of the guide 42, the inboard side 303 of said carriage on traveling in the arc of the guide must be lifted higher than the outboard side 301. Hence, the reel 343 is larger in diameter than the reel 340. to compensate for this dilferential in vertical movement of opposite sides of the carriage.

Also, that the arc of the cable guides 36%, 362 is such that as the carriage tilts laterally in moving in the arc of the guide 42 and its two sides move differentially, said guides act to maintain even tension on the cables 328, 33% in any tilted position of said carriage.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In atractor operated rotary cutting tool, the combination with a tool carrying boom alongside the tractor having a rear end pivoted on said tractor for vertical swinging of the boom, a vertical arcuate guide on said tractor, and an annular carriage for said boom encircling the boom and slidably mounted in said guide to extend in a vertical plane laterally from the tractor, of hydraulic lift means for said carriage comprising a pressure responsive cylinder mounted for vertical movement on the tractor, and cable and pulley means operative by downward movement of the cylinder to lift said carriage at diametrically opposite sides thereof.

2. The combination of claim 1, said means comprising an upright support on said tractor having a cross-bar overlying said carriage, cable wind up reels 011 said bar having cables fixed thereto andto opposite sides of said carriage, and means operatively connecting said cylinder to said reels.

'3. The combination of claim 1, and a vertical rod on said tractor having a cylindrical collar on which said cylinder is slidably mounted.

4. The combination of claim 2, said last means comprising reel operating pull cables -to which said cylinder is connected.

5. The combination of claim 2, said carriage having arcuate grooved upright cable guides on opposite sides thereof, said cable wind-up means comprising a pair of lift cables connected to the lower ends of said guides and working in the grooves of said guides.

6. The combination of claim 5, said last named means comprising cable loops, and idler pulleys on said cylinder working in said loops.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,530,779 Le Tourneau Mar. 24, 1925 2,411,623 Jaques Nov. 26, 1946 2,575,696 Way Nov. 20, 1951

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