WHEEL-TYPE EXCAVATING MACHINE FOR HARD MATERIALS

• US 3,610,691 A
• Filed: 12/12/1968
• Issued: 10/05/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/1968
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Melvin K. Rear, Vincent S. Penote
• Original Assignee: Melvin K. Rear, Vincent S. Penote
• Inventors: Penote, Vincent S., Rear, Melvin K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pulfrey, Robert E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Crowder, Clifford D.
• Application Number:
  US04/783,244
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• Field of Search: 37/94-97,142,191A,189,192A 299/39,84,91,93,25 175/383,412 172/713 143/141-146,133,135
• US Class Current: 299/25
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/188 with the axis being horizontal and transverse to the direction of travel
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/20 with tools that only loosen the material , i.e. mill-type wheels
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2866 for rotating digging elements for milling machines B28D1/186; for mining machines E21C35/18

Abstract

An excavating machine of the type including a chassis and a digging unit mounted for digging movement thereon. The unit comprising an endless wheellike member and a plurality of peripherally spaced sets of laterally staggered tooth members detachably mounted in angularly oriented relation on the wheellike member for moving excavated material upwardly and outwardly of the digging unit. The body of each tooth member having leading and trailing ends and inner and outer edges extending therebetween, and including an attachment portion adjacent the leading and trailing ends, and a blade portion made integral therewith adjacent the leading end and outer edge thereof. A plow assembly is mounted for selective directional adjustment on the chassis and includes an angularly oriented winglike scraper construction operative on opposed sides of the digging unit for moving excavated material away from the digging unit.

Claims

1. An excavating machine including a chassis and an endless digging unit mounted on the chassis for digging movement in a generally vertical plane for excavation of hard materials, comprising a wheellike digging member being of a solid, high-inertia construction and defined by opposed side surfaces, a plurality of tooth members mounted on said digging member adjacent the outer periphery thereof, at least one set of bracketlike support members mounted in staggered relation on said digging member including a front face with each of said tooth members being detachably connected to a respective one of said support members adjacent said front face, said front faces extending in generally parallel relation with respect to the direction of digging movement of said digging member, said front faces including a leading end and a trailing end and said tooth members including directing surfaces extending angularly outwardly from said front faces in a direction from said trailing end to said leading end, said tooth members being disposed in oppositely facing pairs, including one pair disposed generally centrally with respect to the opposed side surfaces of said digging member having their directing surfaces facing one another to provide a narrow cut, another pair arranged with their directing surfaces facing oppositely from said one pair and being spaced outwardly therefrom in a direction toward said opposite side surfaces of said digging member to provide an intermediate cut, and at least one more pair arranged with their directing surfaces facing similarly to said one pair and spaced outwardly from said another pair and being disposed adjacent said opposed side surfaces of said digging member to provide a wide cut upon digging movement of said digging member.

2. An excavating machine according to claim 1, wherein the digging member has a moment of inertia of at least approximately 50,000 pound-feet squared.

3. An excavating machine according to claim 2, wherein the digging member is rotatably driven by the power source at a rotational speed of approximately 19 revolutions per minute.

4. An excavating machine according to claim 1, wherein the digging member comprises an inner ring and an outer ring, the outer ring being of a solid, unitary construction.

5. An excavating machine according to claim 1, wherein the digging member is mounted for rotation in a vertical plane of digging rotation, the plane being centrally disposed with respect to the lateral periphery of the digging member.

6. An excavating machine according to claim 5, wherein the tooth members include a material-directing surface which is angularly disposed iN offset relation with respect to the vertical plane of digging rotation for moving excavated material forwardly with respect to the direction of digging movement and upwardly with respect to the bottom of the excavation formed by the digging member.

7. An excavating machine according to claim 6, wherein the digging unit includes bracketlike support members mounted on the digging member with each of the tooth members being attached to a respective one of the support members, and wherein each of said support members has its opposed ends divergently inclined with respect to each other in the direction of angular offset of the material-directing surface so as to permit reversible mounting of the support members on the digging member so that either end of the support member may be forwardly disposed in the direction of digging movement while permitting the material-directing surface to be angularly offset to either side of the vertical plane of digging rotation and while permitting the material-directing surface and the general plane of the forward end of its associated support member to be angularly offset to the same side of the vertical plane of digging rotation so that excavated spoil is moved in the same direction by the tooth member and its associated support member.

8. An excavating machine according to claim 6, wherein said at least one set of tooth members comprises a plurality of at least three pairs of tooth members which are sequentially and circumferentially spaced from each other with respect to the direction of digging movement, the material-directing surfaces of the first pair disposed to face toward the vertical plane of digging rotation, the material-directing surfaces of the second pair disposed to face away from the vertical plane of digging rotation, and the material-directing surfaces of the third pair disposed to face toward the vertical plane of digging rotation.

9. An excavating machine according to claim 3, wherein adjacent of the tooth members are disposed in laterally offset relation with respect to each other and with respect to the vertical plane of digging rotation.

10. An excavating machine according to claim 4, wherein the support members include a base portion and an upright portion which extends angularly away from said base portion, the opposed ends of the upright portion being inclined with respect to each other in a direction perpendicular to the vertical plane of digging rotation for reversible mounting on the digging member and for providing cutting edges adjacent the opposed ends.

11. An excavating machine according to claim 10, wherein the opposed ends are inclined toward one another in a direction parallel to the vertical plane of digging rotation.

12. An excavating machine according to claim 10, wherein the base portion extends transversely from one side of and generally perpendicularly with respect to the upright portion, and wherein the opposed ends are inclined convergently with respect to each other in a direction away from the base portion.