ARRANGEMENT FOR EQUIPMENT MOUNTED ON EXCAVATING MACHINES AND SIMILAR MACHINES

Abstract: Arrangement of equipment such as excavator buckets (1) mounted on excavating machines and similar machines, where the equipment is mounted on an attachment (7) provided for fastening to the machine arm by means of a shaft (8) in such a way that the equipment (1) can be rotated in relation to the attachment. The attachment (7) has a spigot (9) which is located eccentrically in relation to the shaft (8). The equipment (1) has a spigot (11) which is located some distance from the said rotating shaft. A first link (18) is swivel-mounted at the spigot (9) on the attachment and a second link (19) is swivel-mounted at the spigot on the equipment. At the ends which are not mounted on the said spigots the links are swivel-mounted to each other. The first link has a projecting portion (36), the end of which is attached to the said spigot (9) and which is arranged to penetrate to the rear of the said shaft (8) so that a larger angle of rotation in the direction concerned can be achieved before the link as such makes contact with the shfat (8).

Description: Arrangement for equipment mounted on excavating machines and similar machines * Technical field: The present invention relates to an arrangement for equipment mounted on excavating machines and the like, such as excavator buckets, where the equipment is εupported j On an attachment provided for fastening purposes on the machine arm, by means of a shaft in such a way that the equipment can be rotated in the said shaft in relation to the attachment. Background: With machines for excavation and building works, such as ex¬ cavating machines, tractors and the like carrying equipment, occas¬ ionally the need arises to forcibly rotate the equipment. If the rotation does not for example need to be greater than one quarter of a turn, the rotation can be performed with hydraulic servo- cylinders which are veil known and are stά.ta_ble force devices for such machines. Occasionally however further rotation is required, up to even a complete turn. This is the case particularly when working in tunnels or on steep slopes or va ls, because it may be necessary to excavate or to lever both upwards, downwards and side¬ ways. Technical problem: When rotating equipment through angles which are not much less than half a turn, difficulties are encountered in bringing about rotation by means of an hydraulic cylinder whidi operates against a lever arm. Hence it has been necessary to resort to other solu¬ tions and it has proved difficult to find servo devices which in this sphere can replace the hydraulic cylinder. Eotating motors of different types require gearboxes and during the severe operating conditions encountered with equipment of this type these are highly stressed and at the same time are subjected to an unfavourable environment with considerable dirt and wetness. Hence, unless extremely advanced, robust constructions are employed, such arrange- ments have proved to have a short service life and low operational reliability and in many cases the difficulties have had to he accen¬ ted and arrangements have been employed in which rotation through larger angles is carried out manual rotation after certain connec¬ tions have been released. The solution: The solution in accordance with the invention involves the attachment for the equipment having a spigot which is located eccentrically in relation to the shaft and the equipment is pro¬ vided with a spigot located at some distance from the said rotat¬ ing shaft, where a first link is swivel mounted at the spigot on the attachment and a second link is swivel mounted at the spigot on the equipment. The * HτιV g are swivel mounted to each other at the ends which are not mounted on the said spigots, the first link having a projecting portion, the end of which is attached at the said spigot and which is arranged to penetrate to the rear of the said shaft so that a larger rotational angle in the direction con¬ cerned is achieved before the link as a whole makes contact with the shaft. Advantages: The invention provides a rotating arrangement for excavating machines and the like by means of which a rotational angle of at least almost a complete turn can be obtained without the aid of any rotating motor. Brief description of drawings: Two embodiments of the invention are described in the follow¬ ing and illustrated in the appended drawings. K.g. 1 gives a side view which relates to both embodiments; fig.2-7 illustrate diff¬ erent working positions of the arrangement in accordance with the first embodiment in a section along the line Tπ-171 and in six diff¬ erent working positions (the position in fig.1 corresponds approx¬ imately with the position in fig. 6), and fig.8-10 illustrate the second embodiment in a corresponding section. Best mode of carrying out the invention: lig. 1 illustrates by means of continuous lines, in side view, an excavator bucket 1. This is arranged to be carried by an arm 2, deno¬ ted by daah-dotted lines on an excavating machine or the like. The bucket 1 is combined with the arm 2 by means of a shaft 3 and an attach¬ ment point for a link system 5 so that the bucket can be swivelled through different angles in relation to the arm by means of an hydraulic servocylinder 6. The shafts 3 and are mounted on an attachment and this attachment in turn, by means of a shaft 8 which is at right angles to shafts 3 an 4, carries the bucket 1 in such a way that this can be rotated. The attachment 7 is located to the rear of the line of intersection and hence is illustrated by dash-dotted lines in fig.2-10. The said diagrams also indicate the location of shafts 3 snά 4. As shown in the diagrams, the attachment supports a spigot 9 which is located some distance from shaft 8. Between this spigot 9 on attach¬ ment 7 a link system 10 extends to a spigot 11 which is attached to the bucket 1. The spigot 11 is fastened to the roof 12 of the bucket, vhich together with a rear wall 13, a base 1 and two ends 15 form all the walls of the bucket. In the centre of the rear wall 13 the bucket has an aperture 16 which is terminated at the base Λk by an excavating blade . 17. The link system 10 comprises two links, each of which is double, a first link 18 and a second link 19 which is surrounded by both halves of the first link 18. The link 18 is bent at right angles so that a projecting portion 3-5 which is mounted on the spigot 9 proceeds from the remaining portion 35 vhich connects vith 1-f-nk 19« link 19 is straigh and is mounted at spigot 18. Both 1 .nks are mounted side by side by means of a centre bearing 20. The arrangement also comprises a first double-acting hydraulic servocylinder 21, the piston rod 22 of which is mounted between both halves of link 18 at a spigot 23 * The cylinder is mounted in a bear¬ ing at a spigot 2k- in the bucket roof 12. A second double-acting ■ hydraulic servocylinder 25 has a piston rod 26 which by v -^nn 0 a spigot 27 is mounted between both halves of link 19. Here too the cylinder is mounted in a bearing at the bucket roof 12 and by means of a spigot 28. The servocylinders 21 and 25 are not shown in fig.1 so as to increase clarity. In the embodiment shown ±μ fig. 8-10 the same components are pres¬ ent as have just been described. However the two hydraulic servocylin- ders 21 and 25 are here replaced by a single double-acting cylinder 30, the piston rod 31 of which is mounted at a spigot 3 between both halves of l n> 19. Here the cylinder is mounted at the bucket roof 12 by means of a spigot 33 * In the first embodiment the two servocylinders are arranged so that they operate in a certain, inter—related cycle whilst bringing about ro¬ tation of the bucket 1, this cycle coirprising the extension and retrac¬ tion of the respective piston rods. If it is assumed that the excava¬ ting machine arm is in the position shown in fig. 1, then the shaft 8 is essential_I_y vertical. The arm then extends downwards, see fig.2-10, i.e. in actual fact it is essenti lly horizontal, whilst the bucket roof, in accordance with fig. 1 shown in these diagrams is assumed to be hori¬ zontal. In the position illustrated in fig.2 the bucket aperture 1 thus points to the left, based on the view of the person observing the dia¬ gram, who can be regarded as being in the sane position as the driver of the machine from which the am 2 is assumed to proceed. Hence it is possible to excavate by swinging the machine sideways in this bucket position. By retracting the piston rod 22 of cylinder 21 and extending piston rod 26 of cylinder 25 the bucket can be made to rotate so that the bucket aperture is orientated increasingly towards the machine. By hydraulic locking of the double-acting hydraulic cylinders the bucket can be clasrped in any rotational position, ϊig.3 illustrates approxi¬ mately the hy position from the left-orientated position in fig.2. In fig.4, by continued retraction of piston rod 22 and extension of piston rod 26, the bucket has been rotated so that its aperture points straight towards the machine. This is a normal operating position in which excavation can be carried out by swinging the arm with the bucket aperture towards the machine. Emptying can take place by raising the bucket and swinging it outwards so that the bucket aperture points down- vards. Kg.5 shows how the bucket has been allowed to rotate further, circa h5 , by further retraction of piston rod 22 and by further ex¬ tension of piston rod 26. The piston rod 22 ha g now just about reached its most inward position and must now Tt-vers its movement whilst pis¬ ton rod 26 continues its outward movement. The "dead points" for the two cylinders thus do not coincide, which facilitates a continuous rotary movement on the part of the bucket without any uncertainty arising• at the reversal points of the cylinders. In fig. 6 a purely sideways right hp-nd position for the bucket aperture 16 has been obtai¬ ned and as shovn by the diagram the piston rod 22 has reversed its move¬ ment whilst piston rod 26 is still being extended. The next position is shovn in fig. 7 and this represents the extreme position in this direction of movement (in the diagrams the bucket has been rotated anti¬ clockwise).Here the bucket has passed the purely outwardly facing direc¬ tion for the bucket aperture 16. Bight tip to this position from the preceding one the piston rod 22 is pushed outwards all the time whilst piston rod 26 has reversed and towards the end of the rotational move¬ ment it performs an inwardly directed movement in the cylinder. As shown in fig.2 and 7, the limit for the movement is imposed by the positions in which the link 18 rests against the shaft 8. Between these extreme positions the rotation exceeds 270 • This has been ach¬ ieved by a co-ordinated movement on the part of the two servocylinders. The movement of this cylinder can be regarded as complying with the following table: Rotational sector Piston rod 22 Piston rod 26 for bucket aperture 1 in cylinder 21 in cylinder 25 From left position(fig.2) o 5°towards left (fig.3) In Out From 45°towards left (fig.3) in towards machine (fig.4) In Out Tτo towards πaehine(fig.4) to 45°towards right (fig.5) In Out From 5 towards right * (fig.5) Eeverses from to right hand position(fig,6) in to out Out From right hand position Eeverses from (fig.6) to from machine (fig.7) Out out to in OMPI For performing this cycle of movements it is advisable to provide automatic devices which reverse the movement of the piston rod when this has reached its respective predetermined extreme positions. The person actuating the arranseaent then needs only to open one of two valves, which govern the inlet side of the hydraulic medium in/certain rotational position of the bucket, so that by this means the direction of rotation can be reversed. Hence the said extreme position valves must be change-over valves so that during the desired movement in one of the directions both of the cylinders receive pressure medium on the correct side of the piston dependent on the instantaneous rotational position at the moment of starting and the desired direction of rota¬ tion. Fig. 8—10 illustrate an alternative where only one servocylinder is provided. The three positions in fig. 8-10 show that a more res¬ tricted movement can be achieved with only one cylinder as it is not possible to pass the dead points of the links. If the dead points were to be reached with only one cylinder, and if in order to pass the dead point the direction of movement of the cylinder were to be reversed, then at the dead point either a locking action or an indef¬ inite movement would be encountered and it would not be possible to establish in which direction rotation would continue. It is thus poss¬ ible to overcome such dead points by using two cylinders which operate out of phase with each other so that they do not reverse simultaneously. However it has been proved that with the arrangement shown in fig. 8-10 employing only one cylinder it is possible to achieve a total rotational mmoovveemmeenntt ooff 117700 wwiitthh tthhee aarrrrsangement illustrated using two links, of which one is bent at an angle. Industrial applicability: It should be noted that the arrangement illustrated presupposes that it is necessary to have a continuous shaft, shaft 8. Consequen¬ tly in the extreme positions some of the Ητ-ira will come into contact ith the shaft and this represents the extreme rotational positions. Hence the arrangement does not relate to those arrangements vhere a cam shaft or the like can pass the centre of the shaft, an arrange¬ ment vhich for strength reasons is not practically feasible for the sphere of application envisaged here. OMPI ' The arrangement illustrated is particularly suitable for excavator buckets, but is can conceivably also be employed vith other equipment of sufficient size to accommodate the rotating mechanism. An example of such equipment could be excavator blades.

Claims: Patent claims: 1. Arrangement for equipment mounted on excavating machines and simi¬ lar machines, such as excavator buckets (1), vhere the equipment is mounted on an attachment (7) provided forf stenin ' on the equipment arm (2) of the machine by means of a shaft (8) in such a way that the equipment (1) can be rotated in relation to the attachment in the said shaft, characterised in that the attachment (7) has a spigot (9) which is located eccentrically in relation to the shaft (8) and that the equipment (1) has a spigot (11) located at a distance from the said rotating shaft, where a first link (18) is swivel-mounted at spigot (9) on the attachment and a second link (19) is swivel-mounted at the spigot on the equipment, the ends of the said links which are not mounted being at the said spigots 7 swivel-counted to each other, the first link having a pro ecting portion (36), the end of which is attached to the said spigot (9) and which is arranged to penetrate behind the said shaft (8) so that the angle of rotation in the direction concerned is extended before the link other-wise makes contact vith the shaft (8). 2. Arrangement as in patent claim 1, characterised in that a single servocylinder (30,31) is provided for rotation and vhich is attached firstly to the equipment (1) and secondly to the second link (19) so that this can be swivelled and take with it the first ϋτ * V (l8) so that the equipment is rotated relative to the attachment (7) vith its spigot (9). 3. Arrangement as in patent claim 1, characterised in that a double- acting servocylinder (21, 25) is connected to each of the "■^ B (18,19), vhich cylinders are so located and connected to the Η * n « that with a view to reaching their respective end points of the stroke of piston rod (22, 26) they operate out of phase vith each other, and the cylin¬ ders are so connected to a control system that they reverse their dir- ection of movement at the respective stroke- end points, so that by bridging over the end points of each cylinder by means of continued movement on the part of the other cylinder the rotational movement can be continued beyond the respective end points within a rotational sec¬ tor of approximately 3 θ°»

Inventors: MANNBRO ROLF
Applicants: MANNBRO ROLF
Application year: 1982
Main classification: E02F3
IPC codes: E02F3