US743300A - Trench-digging machine. - Google Patents

Description

No. 743,300. PATENTED Nov. s, 1903. J. H. w. LIBBB. TRBNGH DIGGING MACHINE.'

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1903. NO MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

ISF C,

110.743,30@ PATENTED Nov. 3, 1903. J. H. W. LIBBE. 4 y

TRENCH DIGGIANG MACHINE.

. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 14, 1903. N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

witnesses: Inventor.

TH: Noms FUER; 00,. PHamumcL WASHINGTON, n.

No. 743,300, PATBNTED Nov. s, 1903.

- J. H. W. LIBBE.

TRENGH DIGGING MACHINE.

APPLOATION FILED MAY 14, .1903.

R0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

H: nanars PErzns ce.. Pnoouwo. wAsHmam, n. g.

UNTTD STATES Patented November 3, 190g.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN I I. W. LIBBE, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO LIBBE ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD., OF LANSING, MICHIGAN, AND TOLEDO,

OHIO, A COPARTNERSHIP.

TRENCH-DIGGING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 743,300, dated November 3, 1903.

Application ined May i4.. 1903.

To all whom it may con/cern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. W. LIBBE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Trench-Digging'Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for digging trenches for sewers, watermains,.and

lo the like, and has for its object to provide a machine designed to be moved in the direction of the extension of the trench on suitable tracks, said machine being provided with a traveling scoop and with means for i 5 operating and guiding said scoop whereby the scoop is moved in a forward direction, or in the direction of the extension of the trench, until it has been filled with earth and is then carried forward, upward, and to the rear of zo the machine, where itis caused to dump its contents into the trench to coverup the pipes that have been laid or that portion of the sewer that has been constructed. Detailed objects of the invention relate to z5 a novel construction of track for guiding the course of the'scoop, to novel means for effecting the dumping of the scoop, to novelineans for returning the dumping mechanism to its normal position, to novel means 3o for adjusting the heightl ofthe track in a trench to regulate` thedepth of cut of the scoop, to novel means for causing the forward movement of the machine as a Whole, to novel means for preventing a backward 35 movement of the machine, and to combining with the machine ashoring-frame adapted to be moved by the machine within the trench as the same is extended and thereby to prevent the Walls of the trench from cavingin.

I have illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings,in which-mA Figure 1 is a side view in elevation of a complete machine and apparatusconstructed according to myinventiom Fig. 2 is atop 4,5 plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line @cof Fig. l. Fig. lLis asectionon the line zr' w' of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the shoring-frame and of the lower. endof the scoop-track, also show- 5o ing the drumg and ratchet for raising the track to adjust the cut of the scoop. Fig. 6

Serial No. 157,156. (No model.)

. is a cross-section of the snoring-frame on the line y y of Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is also a crosssection on the line -y y of Fig. 5, but taken through the scoop-track, showing the bufferplate and the drum and ratchet for raising the lower end of the track.

` Similar numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views of the drawings. ,Referringnow to the drawings, 1 indicates the truck ofthe machine, supported on wheels 2, adapted to travel ontracks 3. Supported on the truck `1 is an engine 4 for operating the scoop and for causing the forward travel of the machine in a manner hereinafter described.

The engine 4 through the medium of suitable gearwheels drives the shaft 5, upon which is mounted the drum 6 for winding the cableV 7, attached to the scoop 8. The drum 6 is loose on the shaft 5 andis brought into operation by means of clutches 9, located, respectively, at opposite sides of the drum, and which clutches are operated by means of two' 75 arms 10, secured together at their lower ends by means `of a cross-beam 11 and having in termediate their ends pins 12, which work in circumferential grooves in the hubs of the friction-clutches 9. In the upper ends of the arms are pivotally mounted trunnions 13, provided, respectively, with right andleft hand threaded apertures designed to receive correspondingly-threaded portions of a rod 14, having at one end a hand-Wheel 15. By turning this hand-wheel in one direction the upper ends of the rods 10 will be brought together, thereby forcing the clutches 9 into frictional engagement with the drum 6, so that' said drum will be rotated by the shaft 5, and by turning the hand-wheel 15 in the opposite direction the clutches 9 will be released from engagementwith the drum, as will be understood.

The scoop 8 is designed to travel upon a track 16, which, as shownin sectionin Fig. 7, is formed of parallel channels 17, having inturned flanges 18 disposed toward each Y other, and the scoop 8 is suitably mounted upon Wheels 19, which are adapted to travel roo on the lower langes 18, the upper flanges pre-` venting the scoop from leaving the track.

As seen by Fig. l, the track 16 extends in an upwardly-inclined direction from the front A end of the machine to a point near the rear end thereof and is supported by means of uprights 20r extending upward from the truck 1. A suitable roof or cover 21 may be pro vided between the tracks 16 to protect the engine 4 and the gearing thereof from dirt, which otherwise might Afall from the scoop S as it traveled up the track 16 and interfere with the working of the engine.

At the rear end of the machine the truck 1 is provided with a cross-shaft 22, which serves to supporta series of radially-extending arms 23, which at their outer ends are secured to a curved or semicircular portion 24 of the scoop track. This curved portion of the track extends a considerable distance below the truck 1, and at its lower' extremity at 25 has pivotally'connected to it an extension 26 of the scoop-track. The extension 26 is made in sections secured together at the point indicated at 27, and said extension can be lengthened or shortened, as required, by taking out or putting in sections, according to the depth of trench to be excavated. The lower end of the scoop-track is curved, as indicated at 28, in order to give the scoop the proper rake to cause it to enter the soil in-making a out. The rear end of the scoop-track or extension 26 is also provided with a bufferplate 29, between which and a plate 30, sccured to and extending between the tracks 17, are springs 31. (Shown by dot-ted lines in Fig. '7.) The buffer-plate 29 is guided by means of rods 32 extending through the plate 30 and through a supplemental bar or strap 33, which is also secured to the ends of the beams 17 and is located a slight distance outside of the bail 30. The purpose of the buffer-plate 29, with the springs 3l, is to overcome the shock caused by the bucket as it descends to the bottomof` the trench, and the purpose of the supplemental bail or strap 33 is to stop the bucket should the buifer mechanism give way under impact of the descending bucket.

In order to elevate the extension 26, I have provided two sets of mechanisms, one of which is adapted to be operated by a workman in the trench and the other of whch'may be operated from the machine.

Referring to Figs. l, 5, and 7, the mechanism for elevating the extension from the trench comprises a drum 34, mounted on a shaft 35 in suitable bearings 36, provided at the lower outer end of the extension 26, and said drum is provided at one end with ratchets 37, which are engaged by a pawl 38, pivotally mounted on a lever 39, which is rotatably mounted on the shaft 35. A cable 40 is secured to the drum 34 and passes upward to and is secured to the machine in a manner presently to be described.

Pivotally mounted adjacent to the drum 34 on the scoop-track is a cable-guide 41, which may be of any preferred construction and which it is not deemed necessary to illustrate in detail. The operation of this mechanism will be readily understood. When it is desired to elevatethe extension 26, the operator in the trench seizes the end of the le- 4ver 39 and raisesit, and this ymovement of the chine will be described. Mounted in suit-v able bearings 42 on the truck 1 is a rockshaft 43, and loosely mounted in a pivotal manner on this rock-shaft is a treadle 44, to the outer end of which is secured the upper end of the cable 40. After said cable has beenpassed two, three, or more times around t-he shaft 5 said cable passes ovei` sheaves 45, secured to the under side of the truck 1. In the normal position of the parts shown in Fig. 3 the frictional engagement of the cable 40 with the shaft 5 will not be sufficient to cause said cable to be wound upon the shaft as the same revolves. If it be desired to elevate the extension 26 vby an operator at the surface, he will place his foot upon the tre'adle 44 and press the same downward, thereby causing the cable 40 to bind upon the shaft 5, and consequently as the shaft revolves in the direction indicated by the arrow the cable will be wound thereon, lifting the lower end of the extension 26, the pull, of course, being upon the drum 34. This operation may be repeated until the lower end of the track has been elevated the desired distance.

Referring to Fig. l, the manner of causing the scoop 8 to upset and discharge its contents will be described. 46 indicates a movable section of the track 16, which toward its outer end is pivotally mounted'upon one of the uprights 20, as indicated at 47. The cable 7 passes under a sheave 48, mounted on the truck 1, near the rear end of the same, and over a sheave 49, mounted in the outer end ot' the tilting section 46 of the track. Within the tilting section 46 of the track there is arranged a stop, which is not shown in the drawings, but which is adapted to be engaged by the wheels 19 of the scoop to prevent further movement up the track. This occurs when the scoop has been drawn by the cable 7 to the outer end of the tilting section 46. As the cable 7 continues to be wound upon the drum 6, it follows that the section 46 will be raised at its inner end, or, in other words, its outer end will be drawn downward, and said tilting section and scoop will be caused to assume the position shown in dotted lines in said Fig. 1, in which position of the parts the scoop will discharge its contents into the trench to the rear of the vOC FIO

portion last eXcavated or, in other words, over the work or pipes 50, which has or have been laid. t

In order to return the tilting section 46 to its normal position in alinement with the track 16, I provide a weight 51, secured to which is a cable 52, which passes over a sheave 53, mounted on the rear upright 20, and is secured at its inner end to the frame of the machine, preferably near the upper end of the adjacentupright 20. A second cable 54 is secured at one end to the cable 52 and at its opposite end to the under side of the tilting section 46, near therear end thereof. By this manner of mounting the weight it will be seen that the pull of the weight 51 is normally borne by the cable 52, attached to the upright 20, and said weight .will not act upon the tilting section 46 until the lat-` ter has nearly reached its tilting position, when the weight will then be raised by the cable 54. This arrangement permits the easy tilting ofthe section 46 and dumping of the scoop.

When the scoop has been dumped and it is desired that it return to the trench, the hand wheel 15 is turned to release the clutches 9 from the winding-drum 6, when the scoop 8 will travel by gravity down Vthe inclined track 16 and over the curved portion 24 and down the inclined portion 26 until it strikes against the buer-plate 29. To raise the scoop, the clutches 9 are brought to bear upon the drum 6, and said scoop will be drawn upward over its track until it reaches the tilting position, in this operation of course excavating a certain amount of soil from the bottom of the trench.

The extension 26 is capable of adjustment from about the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1 to a position corresponding to the dotted lines in said figure, in which latter position said extension will be at an angle of forty-five degrees to the vertical. In order to move the machine as a whole forward in the direction of the extension of the trench, I provide the mechanism which will now be described and which is shown in detail in shaft 5 and is then secured to the outer end of a lever 63, which is fixed on the rock-shaft 43. Fixed on the outer end of the rock-shaft 43 is also a treadle 64.

65 indicates cables which are secured to the drums 58 and which pass to a suitable distance in front of the machineand are secured to fixed bodies, such as posts..

To move the machine along, the operator presses down `on* the treadle 64, thereby turning the rock-shaft and through the medium of the lever 63 causing the rope 62 to bind upon the shaft 5. As the shaft revolves, said rope will now be wound upon the same, thereby lifting the arm 60 and through the medium of the pawl 61 engaging the ratchet 59, causing the shaft 57 to revolve, and thereby winding the cables 65 upon the drums and advancing the machine.

When the treadle 64 is released, the arm 60 will drop to bring the pawl 61 into engagement with another part of the ratchet,'so that the aboveoperation may be repeated. Thus in a simple and reliable manner Iprovide for moving the machine and for elevating the extension 26 of the scoop-track from the same shaft 5, which shaft also operates the winding-drum.

In order to prevent the machine from moving backward after it has been advanced, I f

provide a drag 66, which may be in the form of a beam or log of wood and is yieldingly held in contact with the rear wheels 2 by mean's of a cable 67 having a weight 68 suspended therefrom. By this construction-the wheels are chocked as soon as the machine has ceased to move forward, and thus any backward movement thereof is prevented and the great strain which otherwise might be placed upon the cables 65 if the machine were advancing up an incline is` obviated.

It is one of the important features of this invention to provide a portable shoring-frame movable with the machine, so that the side walls of the trench as dug are always braced, and said shoring is constantly moved by the machine in advanceof the finished work, so as not to interfere with the filling in of the trench. To this end I provide a series of longitudinal planks 69, which are connected together by means of brace-bars 70, two sets of such planksand cross-bars being provided, as shown in Fig. 6, and, as shown by Fig. 1, they are closed at their rear ends by crossplanks 71 to form a frame, the cross-planks 71 also acting as a support for the'dirt dumped from the scoop 8 into the trench to prevent the dirt from passing beyond the point of finished work.

The brace-bars 70 at opposite sides of the shoring-frame are provided with oppositelyscrew-threaded thimbles 72, which receive the correspondingly-screwthreaded ends of rods bles 72 serves to unitethe two parts of the frame, so that it may be moved bodily as a ICO IIO

single structure. The said shoring-frame is i supported by means of cables 75,secured'at one end to the truck 1 and at their opposite ends to the ends of brace-bars 76, securedl to l the timbers 69 of the shoring-frame. A bar 77, bolted in a diagonal position to each of the members of the shoring-frame, has secured to its forward end a chain 78, the opposite end of which is secured to the forward end of the truck 1. By means of this connection the shoring-frame as a whole may be carried along by the car as the latter is moved. In practice the shoring-frame is constructed or adjusted to have its rear end slightly narrower than the front end, so that it will move ahead with less friction on the walls of the trench.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat.

ent of the United States, is

1. In a trench-digging machine, a car, a track mounted thereon, comprising a forward substantially semicircular portion, and npper and lower rearward extensions, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop.

2. In a trench-digging machine, a ear, a track mounted thereon, comprising a forward substantially semicircular portion, and upward and downwardly inclined rearward extensions, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop. n

3. In a trench-digging machine, a car, a track mounted thereon comprising rearward extensions located respectively above and below the car, a curved portion connecting such extensions and located in front of the car, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop.

4:. In a trench-digging machine, acar, a continuous track extending from a point below the car forwardly around the same and to the rear thereof, a scoop mounted to'travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop.

5. In atrench-digging machine, a car, a continuous track mounted on the car and extending from a point below the car forwardly around the same and to the rear thereof, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop.

6. In a trench-digging machine, a car, a continuous track mounted on and entirely supported by said car and extending from a point below the car forwardly around the same and to the rear thereof, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop.

7. In a trench-digging machine, a car, acontinuous track extending from a point .below the car forwardly and upwardly around the same and then upwardly to the rear thereof, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop.

8. In a trench-digging machine, a car, a track mounted thereon, comprising a forward substantially semicircular portion, and upper and lower rearward extensions, the latter being vertically adjustable, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop.

9. In a trench-digging machine, a car, a

track mounted thereon comprisinga forward substantially semicircular portion, and upper and lower rearward extensions, the latter being vertically adjustable, means for adjusting the height of said extension, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop.

10. In a trench-digging machine, a car, a track mounted thereon, comprising a forward substantially semicircular portion, and upper and lower rearward extensions, the latter having a curved portion 28 for the purpose described, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop.

1l. In a trench-digging machine, a car, a track mounted thereon, comprising a forward substantially semicircular portion, and upper and lower rearward extensions, the latter being vertically adjustable and having a curved portion 28 for the purpose described, ascoop mounted to travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop.

12. In a trench-digging machine,in combination with a car having a winding-drum mounted thereon, and a shaft for turning said drum,'a track having a pivoted rearward extension, and means for adjusting the height of said extension comprising a rock-shaft having anv arm secured thereto, a cable secured to said arm and passed around said shaft, a drum mounted on said extension and having the opposite end of said cable secured thereto, means for rotating said drum, means for preventing the cable from unwinding therefrom, and means for turning saidrock-shaft to cause the cable to bind about said shaft, the combination being and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

V13. In a trench-digging machine in combination with a car, a track having a pivoted rearward extension and means for adjusting the height of said extension, comprising a drum and means for rotating the same, mounted on said extension, a cable secured at one end to the-car and at the other end to said drum, and means for preventing the cable from unwinding from said drum.

14. In a trench-digging machine in combination with a car,a track mounted thereon and having a pivoted rearward extension, means for suspending the latter from the car, and means carried by said extension for varying the length of said suspending medium whereby to adjust the height of said extension.

15. In a trench-digging machine, a car having a cross-shaft mounted in its forward end, a track mounted on the car, comprising a forward substantially semicircularv portion, and upper and lower rearward extensions, radial beams mounted on said. cross-shaft and supporting said semicircular portion of the track, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, and means for operating said scoop.

16. Ina trench-digging machine, a car, a track mounted thereon having an upwardlyinclined rearward extension, a tilting member supported in alinement with said exten- IOO IIO

-ber to upset, and means for returning the tilting member to its normal position.

1S. In a trench-digging machine in comblnation with a car, a track mounted thereon having a pivoted tilting member, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, means for causing said scoop to travel over said track and onto said tilting member and thereby to upset said tilting member, and means for causing said tilting member to resume its normal position, comprising a cable secured to a iixed portion of the machine and having at one end-a Weight, and a second cable secured to the rear end of said tilting member and to said first-named cable.

19. In a trench-digging machine, a car, a track, a scoop mounted to travel on said track, a driven shaft, a winding-drum loosely mounted on said shaft, a cable secured to said winding-drum at one end and at its other end to said scoop, clutch members located on opposite sides of said drum and keyed to said shaft, and means for operating said clutch members comprising arms connected at one end and intermediate their ends suitably connected with said clutch members and at their opposite ends provided with oppositely-screwthreaded trunnions, a rod correspondingly screw-threaded to engage said tru unions, and

means for turning said rod. y

20. In a trench-digging machine of the type adapted to travel over tracks,"`or the like, means for moving said machine comprising in combination with the driving-shaft, a shaft mounted on the machine and provided with a drum having ratchet-teeth, an arm loosely mounted on said shaft and having a pawl adapted to engage said ratchet-teeth, a rockshaft mounted on the machine and having an arm, a rope secured to theV outer ends of each of said arms and passed one or more times around the driving-shaft, and means for turning said rock-shaft, said drum being adapted to have secured thereto one end of the cable, the opposite end of which is secured to some iixed object in frontof the machine.

21. In a trench-diggin g machine of the type adapted to travel on wheels over tracks, or the like, means for preventing backward movement of the machine, comprising a drag connected by means of the cable to the machine, and a weight secured to said cable and (adapted to hold said drag yieldingly against the rear sides of said wheels.

22. In a trench-digging machine of the type Y adapted to travel over tracks, or the like, a

shoring-frame supported from and movable by said machine.

23. In a trench-digging machine of the type adapted to move over rails, or the like, a shoring-frame supported from and movable by said machine, and means for pressing said frame outwardly against the sides of the eX- ingly screw-threaded at their opposite ends engaging in said thimbles, a hand-wheel on each of said rods for turning the same, cablessecured at one end to the truck of the machine and at their opposite ends to said shoring-frame, a bar 77 bolted in a diagonal position to the planks at each side of the shoring-frame, and a chain secured at one end to the forward end of each of said bars `77 andat its opposite end secured to the forward end of the machine, substantially as described.

In testimony Whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- JOHN H. W. LIBBE.

Witnesses:

DAVID. C. WALTER, T. T. CoLPiT'rs.

IOO

Images