US2696770A - Earth compactor - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 14, 1954 R. s. MOKESSON 2,696,770

EARTH COMPACTOR Filed May 26, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 20.4197 5. M56350 lrrap/vn Dec. 14, 1954 R. s. MOKESSON 2,696,770

EARTH COMPACTOR Filed May 26, 1952 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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EARTHEQMBAQTQIS; Ra at 55- Msle s a Ser a axle e ita. Application May 26,1952, Serial ;No 289,941

Claims; (cl! 94150 i flied i e h re n? l. l t, awn-,bv 'r' eb sq m lfat ni eisx mes that eachlayefl or. lift'of' the 'fill 'or thenrass of may, becompa'ctedinto requisite dq j ityr 'Therear special requirements o f an earth eompgctg and it is a general object ofi inyfinventionfto, rnee tmos't' 'I orall ojsu chrequirern nts'. tolf ifl It is anobject ofr'n nventiontoprovi de anearth corn; pacifie st mf a'g d I I I i y l a Another object of ,invj'ent' his to provide, an Compactor ,eife ctive tofconc'e'ritra a hgea compaction: badbver a small a ea, of ground 1 a nerwh'jchtdbes, not strainthe compactor severel no e bi ct'of thei iw nt is ep qv d an arth compactor capable of operating uderjadversef circurnf stances on terrain of irregular-nature, g n er b e t of mv" nv iit oni 0 P o d Qm: pactoruse fulto cornpact'ear t h aljacent Various disc f 4 a 25 s h r iarein e sibyadd an l 2 he. Q q tbflfi e r h cl? m me. si s m l the qd it t al a t i he S na omehea 'ncefsufchas pig iron or ir on orepr ,concrete or the;

'e .1 d;.dr the; ba a t i he d-1:11 esn q a y 1 like. when the rt t amp ct s,..m ewtdytr ler e trou h) ,e nt abri at d,

.- q fthe; ba a f he bottom s s whi e s:

" fisab H kb ide artofthe. t m jc. e rth. amila. qn p qvi elas air of longi tudi ally ..ex-

groun I sllpwa in. Fi lan 3, P

tihuities'such as walls curb th d or '1 tending trun 'xles j3g respectiye These pa l ja h u ss ;.1 v x rot me l l h "Another Object Qt m .p o e an .earth- 'pqr l r. 0 P. .t .on mdi all extend-ins. compactor readily set or changed intheffield to adapt it rods 33. whereas are preferably Iiblll'ltfid; by securing promptly to variant field condit i s, blocks 34 and-?q'ti atgtheiropposite ends: The blocks them-I "A still further object of myjinyenti on is in general to selvesfa're fastenetitoreinforcing channels'37iand 38in: improyeear'th compactors. clude d in the bottom 22 offjthe 'con'lpactor body' The Other objects, together with the foregoing are attained rods 33 at tlieir-opposite ends are reducedin' diameterin the embodiment of my inventionf described in the to define shoulders and are sofastenedfthatthey are accompanying-description and illustratec l ln he ac'coni i firmly-held; in or cl-anipedlongitudinally between the. panyingdrawings in which i nioun'ting' blocks 34mg 36; Thus, they-constitute not Figure 'lfis a side elevation of an earth icompa ctor only struts spanning thewheel alley 241m also serve as; constructed in accordance withlmy invention, apo rtio'n; rnountin'gsfiorthe rest of the trunnion axles 31 and 3 2.- of the'draft tongue'b'eing oir' ittedto re d uce theisli zg oi 'Eachlof 'the-axl es incorporate-s apairof bearings 3? the figure. and4 1 ofi suchshape and size as also-toconstitutethrust Figure 2 is a crosssectionto an enlarged scale ofthe members bearing against the adjacent blocks 34'ar1d 36. structure of Figuile'l; the pland'ohsection tseingiadr The longitudinal positiono= the trunnion-axles is there; catedby thelineiz llof'Figure 'll I fore established-Within close lirnits. desiredyantifric- Figure is. a fragmentary} cross section,- the jplane o f tionithrust'bear ings can bQsUtiliZEdi but inmost instances section being indicated by the line 3--3 'of"Fig'ur'2 theyv are inot necessar-y. Each ofwthe trunnion axl'es3l' Figure 4 is a diagrammatic cross section similar to and 32 is therefore rotatable aboutits-respectiyeone of-= Figure 2ubutto a reduced scale and showing" the earth a pair ofi l'ongitudinallyextending parallel axes 42-and compactor in ,one variant fornrofarrangement for opera- 4 3=,i r.eferred tto. as f first axestf If: desired,- :thesame .relation. tive motiontcanbe provided by locking theutrunnion FigureS is a view similar to Figure 4 and showing, axles: 31 and. 32 .totheir respective trunnionrods 33- and another variantnarrangementof the earth compagtor, journalingfithe trunnion rods 33 'inithe, mounting. blocks Figure 46 is a view similarto-vFigureA but showing a 34zand 3.6.1. This is=primarily a matter of fastening; the differentpositibnwofroperation Ofithe jt mpa or .1 rodsv 33 either in thenbl'ocks34-andy36or in the trunnion- "Figure 7 isiaviewcomparable to Figure 4 butishoW- axles 31iand;32 as desifdix ing another variant position of operation of the earth M u t d each of;the tfunnipn-"axles 3llandu32yand COIIIPKCIOI- in identical relationship so that the description of one Whlle earth Compactor can be embosiled m a applies also to the other is a transversely extending wheel P of dlffemnt forms l can be varled m many Ways axle 44. The wheel axle is offset by the distance be- It 113.3 successfiuny been Incorporated Show tween its rotational axis 46 and the axis 43, for example. g g In this fi the g g; comtpacior ls The axis 46 extends generally transversely of the vehicle 6 fawn over- 6 groun y a me or er Sm and is the axis of rotation about which the axle 44 is able draft vehicle no? Shown' The -tractor ls attached s mmetrical The axis 46 is referred to as a second axis by means of a draft hltch 7 of any suitable sort arranged y axle 4 is referabl a turned member anchore'd at the forward end of a draft tongue 8, the d1rect1on of e P g 32 d t d advance of the mechanlsm normally being 1n the d1recfifmly 1n the trl-mmon 3X P ex en 5 0n PP 6 sides of the center of such trunruon axle.

tion of the arrow 9 in Figure l. I

The draft tongue 8 is actually part of a body 11 fab- 0 Mounted for rotation on the oppositely extending 8 ricated of suitable plates and shapes. The body is genportions of the wheel axle 44 are ground engaging wheels 51 and 52 including not only wheel hubs of a suitable nature but also pneumatic tires for supporting the structure. Each of the wheels 51 and 52 is individually journaled so as to be individually rotatable about the second axis 46 and in addition each of the wheels 51 and 52 is of such a size and is so located that it is substantially contained within the wheel alley 24 beneath the arched plate 23 and within the side confines of the plates 14 and 16. The wheels 51 and 52 are also of a size to have adequate clearance with respect to the reinforcing central plate 21. Since the first axis 4-3 has an offset 53 from the second axis 46 by an amount equal to the shortest distance between such axes, represented by the arrow in Figure 2, there is adequate clearance between one pair of the ground engaging wheels and the adjacent pair of wheels. There is also plenty of clearance between each pair of wheels and the parts of the body despite the fact that the wheels are in effect in eccentric position when they rotate about the longitudinal axes 42 and 43.

This arrangement is particularly valuable under various operating conditions of compaction. Some of these conditions, although by no means all of them, are represented in Figures 2 and -4 to 7. In Figure 2 is disclosed the arrangement of the parts when a relatively low overall height, low center of gravity and ground clearance are desired, it being observed that the offset 53 extends upwardly from the longitudinal axis 33. In Figure 4 this condition has been changed to afford greater ground clearance by rotating each of the pairs of wheels about its own one of the as illustrated by the arrows 54 and 56 in Figure 2. This rotation is elfectuated by jacking up the earth compactor body temporarily and manually rotating the Wheels, as shown by the arrows, and then restoring the compactor body. The weight then rests upon the wheels after they have been rotated through substantially one half of a revolution about the first axes. In this higher position, or position of greater ground clearance, as shown in Figure 4, adjacent structures such as a curb 57 are readily cleared by the overhanging parts of the compactor body especially when the compactor is being maneuvered against or away from the curb.

If only one of the pairs of wheels is inverted, as shown particularly in Figure 5, then it is possible simultaneously to compact a lower lift 58 and an upper lift 59 of the terrain. This is especially useful in compacting terraces, shoulders of highway paving, trenches and the like. There is a great advantage in this instance in having the compactor body substantially level since then the center of gravity of the ballast is still substantially central of the ground engaging members.

As illustrated particularly in Figure 6, by utilizing the inversion of one pair of wheels, somewhat as in Figure 5, it is possible to compact an inclined bank, 61, and still keep the center of gravity of the ballast approximately centrally located so that the compactor, even though heavily loaded and even though supported on an incline, is still quite stable.

In Figure 7 there is illustrated a condition substantially the same as that in Figure 2 with relatively small ground clearance or low over-all height but in which the individual pairs of Wheels are free to oscillate for initial compaction of irregular terrain.

Since the various wheel positions can readily be arranged in the field merely by lifting the compactor body temporarily, rotating the wheels and then restoring the compactor weight to them, it is possible to adapt the compactor quite quickly to a variety of field conditions. Furthermore, in the event of difiiculties such as tire blowouts or the like which sometimes occur, it is possible 1 by removing the blocks 34 and 36 to replace an entire wheel pair unit with a spare unit with very little difficulty.

This can be done by moving the wheels either axially through the wheel alley or dropping them out below the raised body of the com actor. Furthermore, it is possible to utilize tires of di erent size and different load carrying capacities by making a similar substitution. Furthermore, in the event of blowout of the inside tire, it is possible to move the inside wheel to the outside position by rotating the trunnion axle degrees. It is then possible, when the compactor is equipped with demountable wheels to change any tire without removing the entire trunnion and wheel assembly.

In general, therefore, the earth compactor of my invention represents a substantial advance in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. An earth compactor comprising a body having a transverse well therein, means for confining ballast on said body, a longitudinally extending trunnion axle spanning said well, journals on said body and engaging the ends of said trunnion axle for mounting said trunnion axle on said body for rotation about a first axis, a transversely extending wheel axle, means for securing said wheel axle to said trunnion axle in offset relationship intermediate the ends thereof, ground engaging wheels, means for mounting said ground engaging Wheels on said wheel axle on opposite sides of said trunnion axle for rotation about a second axis offset from said first axis, said wheels being disposed in said well and spaced from said body in all positions of said wheels through at least half a revolution of said wheels about said first axis.

2. An earth compactor comprising a body having a transversely extending wheel alley therein, a pair of longitudinally extending trunnion axles spanning said alley, means engaging the ends of said trunnion axles for journalling said axles on said body for rotation about respective ones of a pair of first axes, a pair of transversely extending wheel axles, means for securing each of said wheel axles to a respective one of said trunnion axles in oifset relationship intermediate the ends thereof, ground engaging wheels, means for mounting said ground engaging wheels on said wheel axles in pairs one on each side of said trunnion axles for rotation about second axes oifset from said first axes, said wheels being disposed in said alley and spaced from said body and from each other in all positions of said wheels through at least a half revolution of said wheels about said first axes.

3. An earth compactor comprising a body including a bottom in part formed as a transversely extending arch of predetermined radius open toward the ground and at both ends to define a wheel alley, a pair of longitudinally extending horizontal trunnion axles spanning said alley, means for journaling the opposite ends of said trunnion axles on said body at points a predetermined transverse distance apart, a pair of transversely extending wheel axles each joined adjacent its center to the central portion of an associated one of said trunnion axles in an offset relationship, and ground engaging wheels rotatably mounted on said wheel axles on opposite sides of said trunnion axles, each of said wheels having a radius from the associated one of said trunnion axles less than the distance to said wheel alley and less than half said predetermined distance between said trunnion axles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 22,102 Reid May 26, 1942 1,640,217 Reid Aug. 23 1927 2,314,601 Ritchie Mar. 23, 1943 2,610,557 Bros Sept. 16, 1952

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