Apparatus for laying conduit, cable and the like in or beneath fill material
First Claim
1. A device for the rapid laying of an article in a simultaneously deposited layer of embedding material, including a structure having opposite ends, one of which is a leading end and the other a trailing end, said structure containing within the bounds thereof a hopper for holding a supply of embedding material, an article feeding tube extending through the interior of said hopper to have its inlet end located adjacent said leading end of said structure and its output end adjacent said trailing end, means defining an exit opening from said hopper and from said structure for embedding material within said hopper to discharge from said trailing end adjacent said output end of said feeding tube, the output end of said tube extending to and through said exit opening, said tube and said exit opening being arranged at said trailing end to provide that in the movement of said device over a supporting surface there is a continuing deposit on such surface of a layer of embedding material concurrently with a continuing deposit of the article issuing from said tube within or on said layer of discharged embedding material.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for laying conduit, cable and the like, most advantageously in a trench, features a hopper embodied in a frame adapted to be placed within a trench and loaded with gravel or other embedment material. The construction and placement of the hopper provides for discharge therefrom of the embedment material as the frame is moved the length of the trench, the discharge being to the bottom and at one end of the frame and to a level metered by a readily adjustable control blade. A feed tube extended through the frame and the hopper, to position within the body of the embedment material introduced therein, is provided with a mount enabling its substantially universal adjustment. This feed tube serves to guide and discharge the conduit, cable or the like to be laid simultaneously with the discharge of the embedment material and within and at a predetermined level with respect thereto. The frame per se embodies means for a finish shaping and conditioning of the trench as it is moved while the feed tube serves to provide a firming and compacting action on the embedment material over which it is drawn and to form a nest for the article being laid which facilitates a precise positioning of such article in a substantially straight line path.
18 Citations
33 Claims
- 1. A device for the rapid laying of an article in a simultaneously deposited layer of embedding material, including a structure having opposite ends, one of which is a leading end and the other a trailing end, said structure containing within the bounds thereof a hopper for holding a supply of embedding material, an article feeding tube extending through the interior of said hopper to have its inlet end located adjacent said leading end of said structure and its output end adjacent said trailing end, means defining an exit opening from said hopper and from said structure for embedding material within said hopper to discharge from said trailing end adjacent said output end of said feeding tube, the output end of said tube extending to and through said exit opening, said tube and said exit opening being arranged at said trailing end to provide that in the movement of said device over a supporting surface there is a continuing deposit on such surface of a layer of embedding material concurrently with a continuing deposit of the article issuing from said tube within or on said layer of discharged embedding material.
- 18. A device for the rapid laying of an article in a simultaneously deposited layer of embedding material, including a structure having opposite ends, one of which is a leading end and the other a trailing end, said structure containing within the bounds thereof a hopper for holding a supply of embedding material, an article feeding tube extending through the interior of said hopper to have its inlet end located adjacent said leading end of said structure and its output end adjacent said trailing end, means defining an exit opening from said hopper and from said structure for embedding material within said hopper to discharge from said trailing end adjacent said output end of said feeding tube, and means for the variable positioning of said tube at its output end with reference to said exit opening.
- 20. A device for the rapid laying of an article in a simultaneously deposited layer of embedding material, including a structure having opposite ends, one of which is a leading end and the other a trailing end, said structure containing within the bounds thereof a hopper for holding a supply of embedding material, an article feeding tube extending through the interior of said hopper to have its inlet end located adjacent said leading end of said structure and its output end adjacent said trailing end, means defining an exit opening from said hopper and from said structure for embedding material within said hopper to discharge from said trailing end adjacent said output end of said feeding tube, the trailing end portion of said structure having the bottom thereof elevated with reference to its base which is provided by the leading end portion of said structure and said exit opening being comprised of two portions one of which is defined in said bottom of the said trailing end portion and the other of which is in a plane perpendicular to said base and in merging relation to said one portion of said opening to form a continuation thereof.
- 24. A device for the rapid laying of an article in a simultaneously deposited layer of embedding material, including a structure having opposite ends, one of which is a leading end and the other a trailing end, said structure containing within the bounds thereof a hopper for holding a supply of embedding material, an article feeding tube extending through the interior of said hopper to have its inlet end located adjacent said leading end of said structure and its output end adjacent said trailing end, means defining an exit opening from said hopper and from said structure for embedding material within said hopper to discharge from said trailing end adjacent said output end of said feeding tube, said structure having a substantially rectangular configuration, a lower part of its trailing end being cut away to define said exit opening and said tube being positioned to decline from said leading end of said structure to said exit opening at the trailing end thereof, and said leading end of said structure being constructed and arranged to provide for the mount of said inlet end of said feeding tube at selected laterally displaced positions.
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29. A device for the rapid laying of an article in a simultaneously deposited layer of embedding material, including a structure having opposite ends, one of which is a leading end and the other a trailing end, said structure containing within the bounds thereof a hopper for holding a supply of embedding material, an article feeding tube extending through the interior of said hopper to have its inlet end located adjacent said leading end of said structure and its output end adjacent said trailing end, means defining an exit opening from said hopper and from said structure for embedding material within said hopper to discharge from said trailing end adjacent said output end of said feeding tube upon a supporting surface, and means for a balanced lifting and lowering of said structure from and to a supporting surface including a chain and means for directing said chain in different paths in the use thereof to insure a substantially balanced state of said device in the lifting and lowering thereof despite variations in its weight distribution, as may be occasioned by its particular construction.
- 31. A device for the rapid laying of an article in a simultaneously deposited layer of embedding material, including a structure having opposite ends, one of which is a leading and the other a trailing end, said structure containing within the bounds thereof a hopper for holding a supply of embedding material, an article feeding tube extending through the interior of said hopper to have its inlet end located adjacent said leading end of said structure and its output end adjacent said trailing end, means defining an exit opening from said hopper and from said structure for embedding material within said hopper to discharge from said trailing end adjacent said output end of said feeding tube, and said leading end of said structure being constructed with an elongate slot accommodating the projection therethrough of said inlet end of said feeding tube, plate means being arranged to position over said slot, at least in part, to inhibit the displacement of that portion of the feeding tube within the slot from the position at which it is set.
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33. A device for the rapid laying of an article in a simultaneously deposited layer of embedding material, including a structure having opposite ends, one of which is a leading end and the other a trailing end, said structure containing within the bounds thereof a hopper for holding a supply of embedding material, an article feeding tube extending through the interior of said hopper to have its inlet end located adjacent said leading end of said structure and its output end adjacent said trailing end, a lower part of said trailing end being cut away to define an exit opening from said hopper and from said structure for embedding material within said hopper to discharge from said trailing end adjacent said output end of said feeding tube onto a supporting surface, said feeding tube inclining downwardly from said leading end of said structure to said trailing end to have its output end project to the outermost limit of said exit opening, and suspension means constructed and arranged to position and reposition said output end of said tube with respect to said exit opening and in outwardly projected relation thereto.
Specification