US394907A - Grading and ditching machine - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. C. BENNETT 8v M. G. BUNNELL.

GRADINGAND DITGHING MACHINE.

N. PETERS. Pmmmbugnplwr. washingtnmbic (No Mom.) 3 sham-sheet 2. J. C. BENNETT & Mv. G. BUNNELL.

GRADING AND lDI'ICHIN-G MACHINE.

u Pneus mwmnqmpmr. waning 0.x;

(No Model.) i 3 Sheets-Sheet. 3.

J. G. BENNETT au M. G. BUNNBLL. n GRADING AND DITGHING MACHINE.

Np. 394,907. Ptemednea. 18,1883.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

JAMES C. BENNETT AND MORTON G. BUNNELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO FREDERICK C. AUSTIN, OF SAME PLACE.

GRADING AND DITCHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,90*?, dated December 18, 1888.

y Application filed April 24, 1888. Serial No. 271,724. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES C. BENNETT and MORTON G. BUNNELL, both citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grading and Ditching Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of elevators employed in grading and ditching machines for conveying the soil from a plow or the like to a point proper for discharging such soil, and is particularly designed as an improvement in elevators .for ditching and grading' machines of that class in which a portion of the elevator is suspended below the main body-frame of the machine and the remaining portion of the elevator extended out from one side of the machine, so that in road-` making the distance from the plow to the dis charge end of the elevator can be adapted to the required width of road. n OwingI to the great size of these machines and the power required to propel or draw the same over the ground, it is desirable to provide as light aV construction of elevator as maybe compatible with necessary strength and rigidity, and this is particularly desirable with regard to the extension portion of the elevai or that extends from one side of the machine, since the weight of such portion of the elevator necessarily tends to pull the machine over to one side, and hence must be resisted by a proportionally heavy and. strong construction of wheeled body-frame. It is also desirable to prevent the dirt from getting onto the lower fold or leaf of the endless conveyer-belt.

The objects of our invention are to provide a light, strong', and simplified construction of elevator; to provide improved means for supporting rolls that are employed for upholding the upper and lower leaves of the endless conveyer-belt; to provide simplitied and eflicient means for preventing the deposit of loose soil upon the lower leaf of the eonveyer-belt, and to provide certain improved details all tending to simplify and otherwise improve the construction and general serviceability of the elevator.

To the attainment of the foregoing and other useful ends our invention consists in inat- 4, Fig. Fig. 5 is a cross-section on line .5 5, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 represents in perspective a portion of the conveyer-belt, and illustrates a construction of separable joint or fastening device by which the meeting ends of such lengths as the belt may comprise can be temporarily fastened together. Fig.7 represents a section taken through Fig. 6 on the line 7 7.

Fig. 8 represents a portion of one of the hookplates of the belt-fastening device. Fig. 9 represents in perspective, on a somewhat larger scale than the preceding figures, the upper or delivery-end portion of the elevator with the belt removed.

The elevator comprises in its structure a frame, which is made of appropriate length and provided at desired points with bearings for the journals of such rolls as may be required .for supporting and driving an endless elevator belt or apron arranged to receive the plowed-up soil at the receiving end of the elevator and carry the same to the delivery end of the elevator, which may be raised, as usual, to a proper height.

-The elevator-frame is preferably divided transversely into two or more sections, the elevator herein shown being provided with a frame which is divided into a couple of lengths or sections that are hinged together, in order that the first or lower section may be suspended under the body-frame of a grading and ditching machine in proper relationship to a plow, while the upper or next higher section may be extended out from either the rear end or one side of the machine and tilted so as to raise and lower the delivery end of the elevator.

The elevator-frame B,considered as a whole, is formed by two parallel bars, h, which are firmly connected together and likewise rigidly IOO heldat a proper distance apart by any suitable arrangement of cross-bars-such, for example, as the diagonally-arranged bars 13'- whereby the elevator may be said to comprise a single frame in contradistinction to a construction involving two parallel frames.

The side bars of the elevator-frame B are herein shown dividedv into lengths in correspondence with the required lengths of the sections which are connected together at their meeting ends to provide a suitably-jointed frame. Itis understood, however, that the frame is not necessarily thus divided and jointed, since for smaller machines, f or example, the elevator-frame may be composed of a single length, whereby the jointing of such frame can be dispensed with. For the purposes of our invention, therefore, the side bars of the elevator-frame may be regarded either as divided into lengths and jointed together at their ends or as single bars extend.- ing from end to end of the elevator.

The rolls E, for upholding the lower leaf of the conveyer -belt, are supported by hanggers b2, which d'epend from the frame B and afford or are provided with bearings for the journals of such rolls, in which way the necessity for a couple of side bars arranged below the .bars b as a support for the rolls E is obviated. As a further feature of improvement in this direction, t-he hangers U2 are bent outwardly at points opposite the edges of the lower leaf of the conveyer-belt in order to provide space for the edge portions of the lower leaf of the belt and avoid widening the frame B. InA elevators of the -class to which this relates it is common to permit the edge portions of the upper leaf of the belt to extend somewhat beyond the ends of its supporting-rolls C and vto overlap the bars in which the upper rolls are j ournaled in order to prevent such loose soil as may work its way over the edges of the upper leaf of the belt from getting into the boxes o`r bearings for such rolls. This arrangement has therefore necessitatedl the employment of a second lower frame made considerably wider than the upper frame and arranged below such upper frame so as to support the rolls that serve to uphold the lower leaf of the conveyer-belt; but by our arrangement of hangers the presence and weight of such lower frame and the braces required to connect it with the upper frame are avoided, and at the same time ample width of space afv forded for the lower leaf of the belt without `nient of parts.

the guards from gettin g onto the lower leaf of the belt, it being observed that by such arrangement it is `not necessary to extend the guards down to the level of the lower rolls, E. The side boards, G, which are, as usual, arranged over the conveyer-belt so as to form the sides of a conveyer-trough, are supported from the elevator-frame by the bent stands or arms g. As a simple arrangement of hangers, guards, and arms or stands, said members can be fitted together substantially as shown in Fig; 2, wherein the arms or stands g are arranged against the outer sides of the guards and the upper ends of the hangers arranged between the guards and the sides of the frame, to which said members can be secured and held together by bolts or rivets passing through the lower ends of the arms g, the middle line of the guard, and the upper end portions of the hangers. lVe do not, however, confine ourselves to this precise order of securement of said parts, since such order can obviously be reversed or otherwise varied.

The side bars, b, of the elevator-frame preferably diverge somewhat at the upper end of the elevator, so as to widen the space between their ends to an extent proper for the required length of a large belt-driving roll, Il, having one ofits journals provided with a sprocket, 7L, for the endless driving-chain 71f, that is to be driven in any desired way. At the receiving end of the elevator the side bars, l), of the elevator-frame also preferably diverge somewhat, so as to provide between them ample vspace for a belt-roll, I, and also widen the frame at its receiving end.

The widening of the frame at its delivery end adapts it to receive a belt-roll, H, of suit able length to support the entire width of conveyer-belt, which, as heretofore observed, has its edge portions desirably extended beyond the ends of the idler-rolls C, 4it being, however, desirable that the driving-roll Il should be of such length as to engage the belt across the entire width of the same. By thus laterally defiecting the end portions of the side bars of the frame at the delivery end of the elevator, space is provided for the roll H, as aforesaid, while at the same time the bars can along their main lengths beset apart at a distance that is but little more than the length of any one of the rolls C. This Asaving in width of the single frame, comprising but two long side bars or stringers, also involves strength and permits an efficient arrange- The foregoing statements are also applicable to the widening of the elevator at its receiving' end, where the idlerbelt roll I is arranged, and in addition to such it will be seen that said arrangement also bet- IOO IIO

ter adapts the elevator to the usual lateral bar, if", Fig. V5, underneath or in any other suitable way, and, being at the ends of the bars that are thus spread apart, said boxes will be ont of the way of the soil that is being delivered from the plow to the conveyer belt. In older constructions oi' elevators a scraper for relieving the roll from any soil which might get onto the same has been hung substantially in a plane parallel with the plane of the conveyer-belt. Such arrangement, however, permitted the earth scraped t'rom the roll to accumulate upon the scraper, and hence involved a loss ot time in remov-v ing the deposit. As an improvement in this part of the elevator, a scraper, K, Fig. 4c, is so hung at its ends upon the side bars or bearings attached to the side bars that it will lie in an inclined plane, and from its scraping edge, that is next to the roll I, incline downwardly to discharge the scraped-oit earth into a tray or pan, L. This pan is removably held in position, so that without loss of time it can be removed and emptied of its contents.

As a means for protecting the lower leaf of the conveyerlbelt at the receiving end ofthe elevator, a shield, M, is arranged under the lower leaf of the belt and secured to the elevator-frame. This shield M herein consists of a broad sheet-metal plate curled up along its edge that is understood to be along the side of the elevator that is nearest the front end of the machine, in which way its curledup edge portion m serves to prevent stalks and the like from getting in between the leaves of the belt. The curled-up edge portion of the shield M can be secured to one of the side bars h of the frame, while its rear edge can be secured to any blocks or bar at*A tached to the opposite side bar of the frame, or held in any other proper mechanical way.

The removable pan can be temporarily locked in place in any suitable way, the device herein shown for such purpose being simplya hook, Z, hung from one of the side bars and adapted to engage one side of the removable pan,which at its opposite side can be upheld by any suitable rest, as at m.

The side bars, b, of the elevator-frame may be T-rails or other suitable iianged or unfianged bars, it being understood that, while the employment ot' T-rails for the side ot the elevator-frame is desirable, any other form of bars can be substituted for the T-rails,which, however, when employed attord exceedingly convenient ledges, both for the boxes for rolls C and for the ends ot' the brace-bars b.

In grading and ditching-machines it is common to divide the elevator-frame into a plurality ot' sections detachably connected together to form an elevator,wl1ich can be shortened with reference to the width of the road by removing one or more of the said sections. fhere one or more oi such sections are removed, it becomes necessary to proportionally shorten up the endless conveyer belt. As a means t'or permitting the belt to be readily shortened, it is composed of suitable lengths, which at their ends are simply connected together by interlocking fasteners P. These fastening devices may consist of metal plates riveted orotherwise secured to thebelt and provided with bent edge portions, which serve to form hooks. To preventA any independent side shit't ot' the ends ot the belt' lengths at these temporary joints, one ot' the plates can be provided with checks or stops p at the corners of its hook-shaped edge portion p", Fig. S, while the hook portion p2 ot the other plate can be proportioned in width to engage the hook p between said stops,which latter theret'ore prevent any side slip and cause the belt-sections to be held in perfect alignment. With such arrangement it will be obvious that unich time can be saved in either shortening or lengthening the belt. It is herein understood that, while the belt-tastening devices are particularly designed for what is known as a rubber or rubbercloth belt, the conveyer-belt may for various other purposes of our invention involve other common equivalent constructions-such, for example, as a slatted belt-and that the hangers could in such case serve as bearings for such chain-wheels as might be substituted as equivalents for the belt-rolls.

NVith regard to devices herein illustrated for connecting together the two sections of the elevator and t'or raising and lowering the elevator at such point, no special description of such matters is herein necessary, since the same form the subj ect-matter ot certain claims of application, Serial No. 276,743, tor Letters Patent of the United States, 'filed by Morton G. Bunnell, one of the present applicants, and are herein shown merely to illustrate an elcvator embodying'our improvements put up for actual service. It is understood, therefore, that no limitation is herein placed upon the means whereby the elevator can be raised or lowered at such point.

That we claim as our invention isl. In a grading and ditching machine, the combination ot' the elevator-frame, comprising a couple of oppositely-arranged parallel side bars connected to torni a frame, the upper belt-rolls, C, mounted 'upon said frame, the endless convcyer-belt having its upper leaf supported by said rolls and being throughout its length ot a width to extend at its edge portionsbeyond the upper rolls, so as to cover their joumal-bearings, and t-he hangers depending from said frame and supporting the lower rolls, .1, by which the lower leat' of the belt is sustained, said hangers being bent outward ly opposite theedges of the lower leaf ot the belt, substantially as and Vtor the purpose described.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the elevator-frame, constructed with a single pair ot' parallel side bars and carrying rolls or the like `t'or upholdingl the vupper leaf ot' the'conveyer-belt, ot' the guard-plate F, secured to sides ot' said frame, for the purpose described.

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3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the elevator-frame carrying a set of rolls or the like which support the upper leaf of the endless eonveyerbelt, of the guard-plates F, secured to said frame, and the hangers h2, provided with bearings wherein the journalsof rolls or like devices that sustain the lower leaf of the belt are mounted.

4. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the endless eonveyer` bearings upon hangers depending freni the bars, the guards F, and the arms t, supporting the sides Gef the elevator-trough,all oonstrueted and organized substantially as deseribed. Y,

6. The elevator provided with au endless oonveyer-belt and having the side bars of its frame portion arranged to diverge at the delivery end of the elevator, so as to afford spaee for a belt-driving roll of suit-able length, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. The elevator provided with an endless eouveyer-belt and having the side bars of its frame portion arranged to diverge at the receiving end of the elevator, substantially as and for the purpose described.

' JAMES C. BENNETT.

MORTON G. BUN NELL. Yitnessesz L. L. PAGE, A. S. WELLS.

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