US1081632A - Railway ditching-machine. - Google Patents

Description

H. P. SINK. RAILWAY DITGHING MACHINE.

APPLIGATIO'N FILED MAR. 9, 1912.

Patented Dec. 16,1913.

5 SHEETSSHEET l.

H. F. SINK.

.RAILWAY DITOHING MACHINE.

. ywwlio'a 177386715 APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, 1912.

' Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

5 snnsws-gnnnw 2Q H. P.. SINK.

A, RAILWAY DITOHI'NG' MACHINE. APPLIGATIQN FILED-MAR. 9, 191 2.

5 SHEETS-SHEET naw H; SINK. RAILWAY DI' ICH ING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 9, 1912. I

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

wi/lmeooeo H. F. SINK.

RAILWAY DITGHING MAGHINB.

APPLIOATIOH IIYLED MAR. 9, 1912.

1,081,632. fatenta Dec. 16,1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

' To all when it.may:n0em-:.

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Bent-known that :1; liENRY F; SINK-y. A a citizen of the United States, residing at Greensboro, in the=county-of Guilfordand State of North Carolina, have invented oer, taim new and useful Improvements inRailway Ditching-Machines, GfZWhlCll the-fol,- lowing is a. specification; p p

My invention relates towekcavatingrmar. chines, and particularly tomachines forem: cavatingvtrenches, ditches-oroth'ercutstbeside'a railwaytrack'.

The primary object ofmytinventioncisvatorof =thistype. with a longitudinally ex.

tending conveyer for therexcavated material, WhlCh-BOHVGyGP shall "be capable of: run nine; in opposite directions in order that the excavated 1 material may be discharged ateither end 1 of the superstructureupon: which the conveyer ismou-nted I A furthenobiect is-to provide a machine inwhich the excavating shovel I or "scoop-is movable inward 0routward toward-or from the wheelstructure-oni.-which itis mounted, also movable vertical-1y, v and also; rotatable in a vertical- -'plane to change therinclination of the shovel.

' A further objectinwthisconnection-is to members movable odily outward-to projectt-heshovel to anydesired'extent; or; movable-- upward to 'a- -position-against the -sid ofth'e wheel supporting structure.

Other'objects will bestated in the-follow ing specification;

n m ed" entQfimY' invention; nine accompanying drawings 1 trated. in the" wherein":

Figure 1" is a 'sideelevation of an-exca-f vating-- machine constructed in accordance with my invention." Fig;- Z'isa planview off'the 'machineshoWn-ingiFi 5 Fl 3' isa-fi'ont eli'evation-- on an en? 4 struotnredsasupported fa iplatfmnand pref- .jerablythe enginww or othenmotorfenop oratirigrthe variousinstrumentalities =h'eneafit'er refirred to;is monntml upon this platsimply-be usedfor the--- specificationjomae raeue PatentedDeo.16,1913; a ncaeansieamonaueies Serial nacsase'n the machine-shown in Figs; l and Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation enlarged of one-half of the excavatingmachine Fig-. 5 a perspectivedetail 'view of the frame of the machine, the conve'yer for carrying excavatedmaterial fiom-the shovel to the main: conveyor, and the mechanism where'- by the secondaryconveyen-is supported and actuated; Rig: 6 is *afragmentary vertical 5 section; on'theli'ne 6--6-' oi Fig; 7 showing the means fomd-rivingthe auxiliary elevator op, era-ting shaft. Fig. 'Ffisa sectional plan- View otaportionof the superstructureshowing the means :for slidingly supporting the extrem- A ltyof *the -shovel supportmgzbeam, and the means fe -drivin the conveyor actuating shafts of theauxiliary conveyors.

Correspondingand likeparts are referred toin the following'description and indicated inall theviews of 'the; accompanying dravw in hy'th'e same reference characters.

y lmproved excavating mechanism is vsupported upon a Wheeledsuperstructure comprisin a supporting frame mounted upon truci s 2 and including oppositely disposed, longitudinal beams' extending the entire length of the supporting structure; truck supportedbeams 4 and 4 "at each endof thestructure, vertical framingmembers -5 oppositely disposed, intermediate vertical members-6 extending nearly to the"roadbed longitudinal members 7; vertical supportingbeams 8, and diagonal bracing members 9,

Ibwill' be -understood that'this-struoturema 9 I be changed in a la ge-variety; of 'waysan yetcompletely fulfil its motion of support ing the excavating apparatus:

Upon the b'eams at one eml oi tliesuperform The engine -10 11121 be-used asa motwo power for the--- excavating machine" it seli a's w-ell as athe motive'powcr for the-excavatingmeohanism, orwthe engine .10 may gpose of hoisting ms as hereafi'er or. lowering' theshovel described! F S'upporteduponathe braces-9* and 99-is-a conveyer-casing or frame designated 11, and supported on oppositely disposed rollers 12 "and 12 in this=casing or frame is anendless conveyerlbelt 13'which may-be slatted or not as-maybedesired. The rollers 12 ,and 12 are driven by-rneans-=o&sprocketWheels 1 1-,

1a mounted upon the shaftsoi the rollers 12 and 12 Connecting these sprocket wheels 14, 14 is an endless sprocket chain designated 15. The shaft of the roller 12" is also-provided with a'sprocketwheel 16 which is connected by means of a sprocket chain 17 with a sprocket wheel 18 driven irom the engine inany suitable manner. It will be understoodthat I may use either As will be seen from Figs. land 2, the

beams 6 support vertically'exten'ding guides.

. Between-the forwa'rd'verticai beams 6 and the middle vertical beam 6 there is disposed a vertically sliding frame designated 20,"and

between the rear vertical beams 6 and the intermediate vertical beam 6 is disposed a frame 20 which is recisely the-same as the frame 20 hereto ore described. These frames 20 and 20 are disposed respectively near one side or the other of the car. The

frames 20 and'20 are approximately rectangular 1n iorm and are raised or lowered by means of screw rods 22 which pass down through beams 23 and have screwthreaded engagement tl1erewith..land carry at their upper ends the hand wheels 24, the lower ends of these screw rods being swiveled in the top beams of the frames 20. By rotating the screwrods in one direction the frames are raised, and by rotating them in separate beams 2 g I 28Sand 29 are space'dfrom'each'other and the other direction, the 'frames are lowered.

'llite is one of these frames 20 or. 20?, for 1 each of the shovel; supporting beams.

Transversely frames 20 and '20 are the oppositely posed slide beams 25 and 25 which are suitably spaced from-each, other, and at theirouterends have projecting ears 26 perforated for the passage ofa transverse pivot pin 27. -Moi1nt.ed'upon thepivot pin 27 so as'to have a pivotal movement in'a vertical? plane, is the shovel or; scoop supporting beam,- .This beam is, a co1npoun'dbeam;

and composed as illustrated: of; ;three 8, '29 and The beams held in proper rigid relation bymcans of diagonal bracing struts an :passes through the three separate elements 28, 29 an compound rendered entirely rigi one or a plurality of sprocket chains '17 for movable with relation to (pile 5 designated-31. The beam 30 is notas long as the beam 29 but is: riveted or bolted thereto andie then cut wardly' deflected and then'xftended-i iiiward arallel to the inner endspfthe beams 28 d '29 as illustrated in Fig; 2,,1-The bolt 27- d 30. Thus t'he shovel. supporting beam is thoroughly braced anfdjl d, the bearnBO forms ing a brace resisting any rearward move ment of the compound beam.

For the purpose of raising and lowering the free end'of the shovel supporting beams, I provide the cables 32 which are each attached to the extremities-of the shovel supporting beams and pass upward and l over sheaves 33 supported in any suitable man ner upon the superstructure. These cables 32 pass over sheaves 34; and 35 and then extend downward to a drum 36 which is driven from the engine 10 or other motor.

Attached to the outer end of each of the beams 29 are the spaced ears 37, and attached to the bottom plate 38 of the scoop or shovelsupporting beam are the depending 42 which is provided with the upwardly extending shank 43 which is shiftable be-- tween the cars 37,. This shank l3 is formed with a plurality "of perforations 44 through which a pin 45 passes whereby the shank and thus permit the forward or cutting edge of the shovel to be raised or lowered and thusregulate the inclination of the out. It

projects rearwardly some, distance beyond thejshovel supporting beam and that the "shovelis upwardly and rearwardlyinclined soTthat the rear end of itis spaced from the ground. y

As before stated, there are two shovels, one located on each side of the machine, two

shovel supporting beams projecting outward i a vertical; position against the sides (if the move up'into this vertical osition bi-.. eans Thesef -cables permit-the free ends .of the ing'beams may be adjusted outwardly'or or each of the shovelsupthat operating thelscrew rods 22, the

cars 39 which are spaced from each other a' may be adjusted with relation to the ears 37 the sides of the shovel or scoop is the yoke willbe seen that the rear end of the shovel fromuthe side hi the machine, and two verti 7 .car' when the shovel; is out. of operation, or whenthecaris traVeling',- and that they may o'f'thecables32actuatedi romytne dfihm'36. Y

.shovelsupporting; beams tobe lowered to *{any'd'esired position. The shovel support .shiftedfiinwardly by operating .the hand;

ach of which hand wheels v ith mesh .of 'the vbeams 25 and 25*; It will alsobe'seen shovel may be lifted bodily or lowered bodily so as to secure any desired depth of out below the level of the track, or to operate on levels below the level of the track.

As a means for holding the shovel by beams rigidly in their adjusted positions, I provide braces .which extend upward, one from the outer end of each of the shovel supporting beams, and which are adjustably connected at their upper ends to a portion of the superstructure. Thus in Fig. 4,- theshovel supporting beams are shown as provided with the upwardly projecting earsA9 through which passes a pin 49*, the pin also passing through the upwardly and inwardly extending brace rod 50. This rod passes through ears 51 formed upon a bracket 52 -bolted or otherwise attached to the superstructure. A pin 53 passes through these ears. The upper end of the rod 50 is formed with a plurality of perforations 54 through any one of which the pin may pass. This brace 50 holds the shovel down and prevents the shovel and the shovel supporting beam from .rising when a cut is made. This brace 50 acts to make the shovel support particularly rigida most necessary feature where the shovel or scoop is submitted to great strain as'in an excavator of this type.

Extending upwardly and inwardly from each of the shovels is an elevator whereby the material excavated by the shovels will be carried upward and deposited upon the conveyor 13. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, this elevator is pivotally supported at its middle so that the lower end of the elevator may be shifted into proper position behind. and below the upper end of the corresponding shovel or scoop without regard to the position of the shovel or, scoop, and also so that the elevator may be turned into a vertical or a horizontal position and drawn in against the side of the car when the car is traveling. As illustrated, the elevator comprises a trough 55 provided at its middle with the rearwardly projecting sup porting ears 56. Over this trough passes a flexible belt conveyer 57 which at the upper. and lowenends of the trough passes over rollers 58. The'shafts of these rollers carry upon them the sprocket wheels 59 and 60,

these wheels being connectedby an endless sprocket chain 61. Mounted in the ears 56 is a transverse shaft 62 carrying atone end the sprocket'wheel 63 which meshes with the sprocket chain 61. The otherend of this shaft 62 carries upon it a pinion 64 which meshes with the gear wheel 65 mounted upon a shaft 66 supported in upwardly extending bearings 67 mounted upon a rotatable table 68. It will be noted particularly from Fig. 5 that the shaft '66 passes through the lbwer ends of the cars 56 and hence constitutes a pivotupon which the elevator may be turned in a vertical plane.

and which extend beneath the conveyers 57 Mounted upon the shaft 66 is a bevel gear wheel 69 whlch meshes with a horizontally disposed bevel gear wheel 70 mounted upon a shaft which passes transversely through the base or platform 68 and downwardly through a supporting beam 71.

On the under face of this beam 71 and mounted upon a the shaft 72 which passes through the gear wheel 70 is a bevel gear wheel 73 which meshes with a bevel gear wheel 74 mounted upon a shaft 75 which extends transversely of the machine and which is connected with the driving mechanism as will be hereafter stated. The beam 71 is supported in a guide frame 76 whicherably the upper ends of the side walls ofthe frame 76 are longitudinally grooved as at 78 and within these guiding grooves or tracks are disposed the bushings 79.: These embrace the rectangular beams 71. and snugly fit the same but permit the beams 71 to be shifted in or out as may be necessary.

It will'be seen that theconveyor or elevator is mounted upon the shaft 66 as upon a horizontally disposed pivot so that the conveyer may be rotated in any desired vertical plane, and that by reason of, the .fact

that the base 68 is pivotally mountedupon the extremity of the beam 71,.theelevator may be rotated in any desired. horizontal plane. Further that the beam 71 is longitudinally shiftable and hence that the elevator may be shifted out or in nearer to'or farther from the side of the supporting structure. Again, it will be seen from Fig. 5

that the elevator and its supporting struc-r ture as a whole are longitudinally shiftable with relation to the car platform. By this adjustment, it is possible to cause the lower end of the elevator to be disposed at all times beneath the rear endof the corre sponding scoo or shovel so that it will re-. ceive the ve'xca ated material from the scoo or shovel and carry it Tipwardand deposit it upon the conveyor belt 13. In order to provide for the deposition of the excavated material upon the conveyor belt'13, I have provided as shown in 3 the laterally projecting-hoppers 80 which are supported in any suitable manner from the trough 11 the upper ends of For the purpose of actuatingthe'auxiliary elevators throughthe medium of the shaft 75, I opefratively connect the shaft 75 with the main conveyerchains 15 so that said shaft 7 shall be driven from the main conveyer chains, which in turn are driven from the engines by means of the sprocket chains as previously described.

Extending transversely across the superstructure and mounted thereon in any suitable manner is a shaft 81 which carries upon it a sprocketwheel 82 over which the upper and lower flights of the, chain passes.

Also mounted upon the shaft 81 which car-' ries the sprocket wheel 82 is a sprocket wheel 83, and supported in the lower portion of the superstructure and in any suitable bearings upon the beam 7 is acountershaft 84 Which carries upon it a sprocket wheel 85- connected to the sprocket wheel '83 by means of a sprocket chain 86 whereby power is transmitted from the shaft 81 to the shaft 84. This shaft 84 also carries upon it a sprocket wheel 87. Over this sprocket wheel 87. passes a sprocket chain 87 which extends longitudinally of the machine and engages with the sprocket wheels 88 mounted upon thecounter-shafts 88, these counter shafts being disposed immediately below the shafts 75 of the two elevators. Each of i the counter-shafts 88 is provided with a spur gear 89 which meshes with a spur gear 75 on theshaft 5. The shaft 75 is splined or feathered to the spur gear 7 5 so that it may longitudinally shift relative to the gear 7 5 the gear wheel being supported in suitable bearlngs so that it can not have any move ment transverse to the superstructure. In

order to drive the shaft 75 for the other auxiliary elevator 0n the other side of the machine, the sprocket chain 87* passes over the sprockctwheel 88 corresponding to this elevator, which in turn is mounted upon a beams, 71 which carry the auxiliary ele vators are also drawn in to their'fullest extent and the elevators extended upward against the side of the superstructure, thus permitting the excavator to pass through tunnels and beneath the superstructure of bridges When it is desired "touse' the excavator,

the beams 30 carrying the shovels or scoops on either one or both sides of the machine are shifted outward to any required extent,

the beams 30 being lowered to a proper position by means of the drum 36 and the cable 32. When the beam is in the proper p'osi-' tion to provide the proper depth of cut, the' braces are adjusted in the ears 51 so as to hold the free end of the shovel beam and prevent its rising. It will be understood of course that the inner end of the shovel beam may be raised and lowered to any required extent by means of the screw 22 and that the shovel beam may be projected or retracted to any desired extent by means of the pinion 17 and hand wheel 46. The shovel may be adjusted to a greater or less inclination by means of the link 42 as heretofore described so as to vary the angle of cut. After the shovel beam and shovel have been adjusted, the auxiliary elevators are shifted outward to proper position and rotated until the lower portion of the elevator is immediately beneath the rear end of-the shovel, the up per portion discharging into the chute or hopper 80. The machine is now ready for work and in order to be used it is only necessary to drive the car forward, whereupon the shovels will scoop up the earth on each side of the track. This earth will be carried up by theauxiliary elevators and discharged into themain conveyor. This main conveyer it will be obvious may be shifted in either direction by means of suitable clutches connectedzto the driving shaft of the sprocket wheel 18, and by this means the earth carried up by the auxiliary elevators may be discharged either at the front or rear end of the excavator.

It will be noted that the shovel beams are braced against the strain of cutting, and

that the compound beam which supports the shovel is of particularly strong and rigid construction and, furthermore, that the shovel beam is braced from any upward movement by means of the brace 50.

The frame 76 upon which the elevator is supported may be shifted laterally in any suitable manner but as illustrated is shifted laterally by means of a screw operated by a hand wheel, this screw engaging a screw threaded member 91 projecting below the frame 7 6.

For the purpose of shifting the beams 71 outward or inward, I may provide the upper portion of each beam with the rack teeth 92 and mount upon the upper face of each of'th'e casings 7 6 a shaft 93 carrying a spur gear 94; which meshes with the rack 92, this shaft being operated by means of a hand wheel 95 or in any other suitable manner.

' What I claim is:

1. An excavator of the character describedincluding a wheeled frame, oppositely disposed, laterally projecting shovel supporting members pivotally mounted at their inner ends, said'members being laterally slidable on the wheeled frame, and means for laterally sliding said members to adjust the same.

2. An excavator of the character described, including a wheeled structure, a ver v ing the.free' end of the tically slidable member mounted on the wheeled structure, a shovel supporting beam, members transversely slidable in the vertically slidable member and pivotally connected to said beam, and means for supportshovel supporting beam. j

3.An excavator of the character described including a wheeled structure, vertica guides mounted upon the structure,' a

vertically shiftable frame movable in said guides, a'screw for raising "saidframe, laterally extending racks mounted in said frame and slidable laterally, gearing whereby said racks may be operated through the frame, a shovel supporting beam pivo'tally connected to said racks, and means connected to said structure and to the extremity of the shovel supporting beam whereby the free end of the beam may be supported at any desired elevation.

4:. An excavator of the character described, including a wheeled structure, vertically and horizontally adjustable shovel supporting beams mounted on the wheeled structure and projecting laterally therefrom,

a main conveyer mounted in the upper pormembers,

tion of the structure and extending horizontally therealong, and laterally adjustable auxiliary conveyers supported on each side of the structure and coacting with the shovels and with the main conveyer.

5. An excavator of the character described, including a wheeled structure, oppositely disposed, laterally projecting shovel supporting members mounted on the structure, means for raising and lowering said shovels supported on and depending from the outer ends of said members, a main conveyer mounted on the structure, and auxiliary conveyers coacting with the shovels and the main conveyer to carry the excavated material from the shovels to the main conveyer, said auxiliary conveyors being shiftable transversely and rotatable in vertical planes.

6. An excavator of the character described, including Wheeled trucks, a superstructure mounted upon the trucks, rolls supported in theupper portion of the sulaterally projecting-shovel supporting beams carried by the structure, ,means for raising and lowering said beams, means for shifting the beams laterally, shovels pivotally mounted upon the ends of said beams, auxiliary conveyers disposed rearward of the shovel supporting beams and pivotally mounted for movement in horizontal and vertical planes and adapted to carry material excavated from said shovels u ward and into the main conveyer, and mec anism for operating the main conveyer and the auxiliary conveyers.

7. In an excavator of the character described, a wheeled structure, a laterally projecting shovel supporting member having forwardly projecting ears, a yoke supported upon the under face of said supporting member and engaging the shovel, and a link adjustably connecting the forward end of the shovel with the shovel supporting member.

8. In an excavator of the character described, a wheeled structure, an excavating shovel supported therefrom and projecting laterally, an elevator frame, an endless belt carried on the frame, said elevator frame extending upward from beneath the rear end of the shovel, a laterally slidable supporting member mounted on the frame, a yoke rotatably mounted on the member for move ment in a horizontal plane, a shaft forming a pivotal support for the elevator frame, a conveyer actuating shaft mounted on the frame and having gear wheels meshing with the gear wheels on the first named shaft, a bevel gear for operating said first named shaft, a driving shaft supporting on said laterally shiftable member and meshing with said gear Wheels, and means on the structure for driving said shaft.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY F. SINK. [n s.] Witnesses:

A. J. SYxEs, R. E. DALTON, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner latents,

- .Washington, D. C.

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