UNIVERSAL LOADING DEVICE FOR WHEELED VEHICLES

Abstract: A universal loading device for wheeled vehicles comprises a bucket (4) as well as a carrier which is mounted on an arbitrary lift arm system of the vehicle. The bucket comprises two pivotally moveable gable walls (13, 14) which at need may be located in the same plane as a bottom wall (11) of the bucket. The bucket itself is by means of two combined locking and pivoting mechanisms (21) pivotally moveable in relation to the carrier (5), this movement being carried out by a jack (33). Hereby the bucket may be used for side tipping e.g. snow or earth and as a plow blade, the bucket being tilted so that the bottom wall (11) is located substantially vertical and at a suitable angle to the direction of travel of the vehicle.

Description: UNIVERSAL LOADING DEVICE FOR WHEELED VEHICLES Technical field This invention refers to a universal loading device for wheeled vehicles, comprising a bucket having a substantially flat bottom wall, a back wall making an angle, preferably about 90° with said bottom wall, and two gable walls located at the short ends thereof, as well as a carrier carrying the bucket, said carrier being in turn preferably releasably connected to a conventional lift arm system by means of which the carrier and accordingly the bucket can be raised and lowered between various levels in relation to the ground of the vehicle as well as tilted about a first axis extending at an angle, preferably perpendicularly to the direction of travel or length of the vehicle so as to make it possible to adjust the bucket between on one hand a primary position in which the bottom wall thereof is substantially horizontal and on the other hand a tilted position in which the bottom wall is substantially vertical and the back wall horizontal and pointing forwardly from the bottom wall, the bucket be¬ ing pivotally connected to the carrier in order to allow the bucket to be pivoted about a second axis which makes an an¬ gle, preferably 90° with said first axis or tilting axis and which is horizontal when the bottom wall is horizontal. Background art Devices of the above-mentioned art are priviously known by the US patent specifications 2679326 and 2821313. More precisely these specifications disclose side tipping buckets which are permanently pivotally connected to the associated carrier through one single pivot located in the vicinity of one of the gable walls of the bucket, this specific gable wall being pivotable to a position in which it projects laterally. Such buckets are advantageous for- the purpose of allowing conventional front tipping as well as side tipping of the content of the bucket to one side of the vehicle, but they are not suited to be used for ploughing or removing purposes, e.g. snow ploughing, since the fixed gable wall being opposed to the pivotable gable wall obstructs such operations. Even in its function as a bucket said devices are further characterized by the fact that their fields of application are most restricted in so far as side tipping can be carried out merely towards the side at which the pivotable gable wall is placed. Disclosure of the invention The present invention aims at eliminating the restric¬ tions of the previously known bucket devices of the univer¬ sal type and create a device having a large number of appli¬ cations. According to the invention these and other aims are achieved by the fact that the carrier includes two spaced- apart mechanisms each of which can serve as a lock for lock¬ ing the bucket in relation to the carrier as well as a pivot for making possible said pivotal movement of the bucket in relation to the carrier, the bucket being optionally pivot¬ able about one of the two mechanisms irrespective of whether the carrier is in said tilted position or not, and that both of said gable walls are hingedly connected to the bottom wall and pivotable between on one hand a primary position in which the individual gable wall extends at an angle, prefe¬ rably 90° to the bottom wall and contacts or otherwise tigh- tens against the back wall and on the other hand a plurality of arbitrary pivoted positions one of which being a position in which the gable wall extends in the same plane as the bottom wall and in extension thereof, the device being, with¬ out removal from said lift arm system, serviceable at least as a conventional bucket, as a side tipping bucket and as a plowing blade. As an example of the superior combination characteris¬ tics of the device according to the invention the use of the device in connection with snow-clearance may be mentio- OMPI . VIr ned. Thus the device may firstly be used as a plow blade and plow the snow to a string accumulated e.g. on the right side of a road. Thereafter the device is modified to a loading bucket which can pick up the accumulated snow string and tip the load picked up to the left side onto a preceding lorry. Further elucidation of the background art The US patent specification 3503144 discloses a univer¬ sal loading device designed to allow on one hand front tipp- ing as well as side tipping and on the other hand snow plow¬ ing. In this case however the two gable walls of the bucket are firmly united with the remainder of the bucket and obli¬ que in relation thereto, in addition to which the bucket is pivotally connected to the associated carrier by means of one single pivot. This means on one hand that the gable walls will have an obstructing effect when using the device for plowing and on the other hand that side tipping can be performed merely in one direction, namely towards the same direction as plowing takes place. Due to the fixed gable walls the bucket will further necessarily be shallow and accordingly it will have an extremly bad loading capacity. Another disadvantage resulting from the fixed gable walls, is that the bucket is not capable of reaching the area ver¬ tical above a receiving lorry when used for side tipping, as is the case when a gable wall can be pivoted outwardly into the area above the lorry. Also in the bucket disclosed in the SE patent specifi¬ cation 7314423-0 the gable walls are firmly united with the back and bottom walls of the bucket; a fact that makes the use of the bucket for plowing impossible. Brief description of the drawings In the drawings fig 1 is a side elevation of a vehicle provided with a loading device according to the invention, said device being shown in a primary position, fig 2 an en¬ larged side elevation of the. same device, but shown in a 90° tilted position, fig 3 a side elevation illustrating the back side of the bucket of the device, said bucket being locked to the carrier in question, fig 4 a similar eleva¬ tion, but showing the bucket pivoted in relation to the carrier, fig 5 an enlarged cross-section through the device, fig 6 a schematic front elevation illustrating the device in two different positions of use, and figs 7 and 8 perspec¬ tive views illustrating an alternative embodiment of a com¬ bined locking and pivoting mechanism in two different po- sitions. Detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the inveπti.on In fig 1 the reference numeral 1 designates a wheeled vehicle in the shape of a so called loader which at the front thereof has a lift arm system 2 of a known or arbitra¬ ry type. A loading device generally designated 3 is attached to this system, said device including a bucket 4 as well as a carrier 5. The latter includes means for detachable moun¬ ting of the device on the lift arm system, more precisly in the shape of hooks 6 which are known per see and arranged to engage pivotable links 7 included in said system as well as lugs 8 arranged to co-operate with pivot pins 9 included in quick-coupling means at the front ends of two main arms 10. These pivot pins 9 constitute a horizontal axis extending laterally or perpendicularly to the length or direction of travel of the vehicle, the loading device being tiltable about said axis in a manner known per se. Now reference is made to figs 2 to 5 which in detail discloses the design of the loading device according to the invention. The bucket 4 comprices a substantially flat bottom wall 11, a back wall which in this case is perpendicular to the bottom wall, and two gable walls 13,14 (see also fig 6). The bottom wall 11 and the back wall 12 ' may advantageously be made from a continuous and rigid piece of plate including a curved intermediate portion 15. In the embodiment shown the carrier 5 consists of a long bar 16, suitable in the shape of a rigid tube, on which two • uprights 17,18 are welded said uprights extending in a common plane which is substantially parallel to the back wall 12 of the bucket. In addition to the hooks 6 the up¬ rights 17,18 also include said lugs 8. In this case the bar 16 has a length which is only slightly smaller than the transverse extension of the bucket. At the opposite ends of the bar 5 two attachments 19 included in two locking and pivoting mechanisms 20,21 are provided, the purpose of each of * said mechanisms being to allow, at need, the bucket 4 to be pivoted about a second axis which is angular, in this case perpendicular to the tilting axis constituted by the pivots or hinges 9 previous¬ ly mentioned. The individual attachment 19 includes two spaced-apart and parallel shank plates 22,23 (see fig5) each having a through hole 24 of a comparatively great diameter. An intermediate plate 25 is normally inserted in the space between the shank plates 22,23, said intermediate plate being angularly shaped and welded or otherwise fixed to the back side of the back wall 12, the intermediate plate having a hole 26 of the same diameter as the holes 24. Preferably the intermediate plate 25 is inserted with a tight fit against the inner surfaces of the shank plates 22,23. Fig 5 illustrates a combined lock and pivot pin 27 engaging the holes 24,26 of the plates 22,23,25. This pin 27 is associa¬ ted with or forms part of a jack or piston-cylinder-mecha¬ nism schematically indicated at 28, said jack being attached to the back side of the shank plate 23 (not shown in fig 3 and 4). By means of this jack the pin 27 may be axially mov- ed into and out of engagement with said holes in the plates 22,23,25. The free ends 29,29' of the uprights 17,18 being remote from the bar 16 form male elements arranged to co-operate with corresponding female elements 30,30' provided on a girder 31 at the top edge of the back wall 12. In order to facilitate the introduction of the male elements 29,29' in the female elements or sockets 30,30' said male elements as well as said female elements are conical or otherwise de¬ signed with a tapering shape. It is evident that the bucket 4, when assuming a normal position as shown in fig ~ , is locked in relation to the carrier 5 at four mutually spaced-apart points, namely at the two mechanisms 20,21 and at the two sockets 30,30'. In the area mid-ways between the two locking and pivo¬ ting mechanisms 20,21 a pivot or hinge 32 for a double-acting cylinder or jack 33 is provided, said jack being of the telescopic type in this case. The piston rod end of this hy¬ draulic jack 33, which has the character of a main jack, is alternatively connectable to one of two brackets 34,35 in¬ cluding pivots for allowingthe jack to be pivoted in rela¬ tion to the bucket. In the example according to fig 4, when the bucket 4 is pivoted about the pivot or axis 2 , the jack 33 is associated with the bracket 34. In this case a compa- ratively great transverse distance is achieved between the bracket 34 and the pivot 21 so as to achieve a good stabili¬ ty and resistibility of the structure when using the bucket member as a plow blade. In those cases where the demands for resistibility are small it is however also possible to atta- ch the jack' 33 to the bracket 35 as indicated by dashed lines in fig 4. An advantage of the latter embodiment is that the demand for length of stroke of the jack will be smaller than in the foregoing case. The two gable walls 13,14 are each connected to the bot¬ tom wall 11 by pivots or hinges 36,36' which allow a pivotal movement of the gable wall in question from a normal or pri- mary position in which the gable wall e.xtends perpendicu¬ larly to the bottom wall and contacts and tightens against the back wall 12 to a plurality of arbitrary pivoted posi¬ tions, one of which being a position in which the gable wall 5 extends in the same plane as the bottom wall as shown in connection with the gable wall 14 in fig 4. The pivotal mo¬ vement or adjustment of each gable wall is done by means of a jack 37 and 37' respectively which, like the main jack 33, is of the hydraulic, double-acting type. In the embodi- 10 ment shown the jacks 37,37' are hingedly connected to the same brackets 34,35 that are used for the main jack 33. At the ends being remote from the brackets the jacks 37,37' are hingedly connected to wall portions 38 which extend angularly to the main part of the gable wall in question 15 and the purpose of which is to stiffen or strengthen this wall and provide a tightening effect in the area between the gable wall and the back wall 12 when the gable wall is in the primary position. It should be noted that the wall por¬ tion 38 is located at the back side of the back wall 12 when 20 the gable wall is in the primary position. When the above-mentioned bucket is used as a plow blade for removing snow or the like, one ore more sliding bodies 39 (see fig 2) may be applied to the front edge of the bottom 25 wall 11. The function of the loading device All of the jacks or piston-cylinder-mechanisms 33,37,37' and 28 included in the device are in practice actuated by 30 means of suitable control means provided in the cabin of the vehicle. In the initial position the two gable walls 13,14 are located at right angles to the bottom wall 11 of the bucket as shown in fig 3 and the bucket in its entirety is rigidly connected to the carrier 5 by the pins 27 of the 35 two mechanisms 20,21 being engaged with the associated holes 24,26. O PI 4 ?. When the bucket should be made inclined in relation to the carrier in the manner shown in fig 4 the pin 27 of the mechanism 20 is released by means of the jack 28, in addition to which the main jack 33 is actuated while providing a com- pressive force between the bracket 34 and the hinge 32. By the fact that the jack 33 is double-acting so that specific lengths of stroke of the same can be exactly settled it is possible to precisely , control the desired angle of inclina¬ tion between the bucket and the carrier. If it is desirable to reduce the angle of inclination or possible completely return the bucket to the initial position the previous po¬ sitive movement of the jack is reversed to a negative move¬ ment of the same. In practice the angle of inclination of the bucket relative to the carrier should amount to at least 45 , and may - if the jack is attached to the bracket 35 in¬ stead of the bracket 34 - approach the magnitude of 90°. The gable walls 13,14 are held in their initial posi¬ tions by keeping the piston rods of the jacks 37 ,37 ' with- drawn in the cylinders. When a gable wall should be moved the jack is quite simply subjected to a pressure which causes the wall to pivot about the pivot 36 and 36' respectavly. Also in this case the jack are double-acting so that precise angles of inclination of the gable wall can be distinctly settled by the operator. The fields of application of the device When the device is used as a conventional bucket (fig 1) it may pick up bulk mass such as earth, snow or the like by moving the vehicle in relation to the ground with the bucket in the initial or primary position. Further it may in a conventional manner be tilted (fig 2) and elevated to a position being maxi aly remote from the ground (shown in full lines in fig 6). In the latter position the device may be used for side tipping the content of the bucket. This is carried out by pivoting the bucket in relation to the carri¬ er and pivoting one of the gable walls in the manner pre- OMPI viously described in connection with fig 4. Such side tipping of the bucket content is particularly advantageous in connection with snow-clearance because then the vehicle may be moved in straight, simple and short patterns of move- ment when loading the snow on an accompanying lorry . Parti¬ cularly when removing light snow the bucket may furthermore be adjusted to the tilted position according to fig 2 at the same time as one or both of the gable walls 13,14 are pivo¬ ted either to the position in the same plane as the bottom wall 11 or to . another arbitrary angle of inclination in relation to the bucket. Hereby the effective working width of the bucket is considerably increased, the gable walls being moved back to their initial positions while compressing the accumulated snow first when a sufficient amount of snow has been accumulated in front of the substantially vertical bottom wall 11. After that the bucket, being filled with co ¬ pressed snow and thereby effectively utilized , may be eleva¬ ted to the position shown in fig 6 in order to tip .the snow frontwise or sidewise. ' The device may also be used as a plow or excavator bla- , de. In this connection the bucket is tilted . to the posi¬ tion shown in fig 2 whereupon at least one and preferably both of the gable walls 13,14 are pivotally moved into the same plane as the bottom wall 11 in addition to which the bucket in its entirety is pivoted in relation to the carrier to the desired angle of inclination in relation thereto. Figs 7 and 8 il-lustrate an alternative embodiment of one .of the two combined locking and pivoting mechanisms in¬ cluded in the device ' . In this case a pivot pin 40 is ri¬ gidly united with the bucket unit 4, more precisely with the back wall 12 and a bracket 41 projecting therefrom In addition to a cylindric central portion 42 the pivot pin 40 presents two elements or portions 43,43' having a conical shape. More precisely, these portions are in the form of a • frustum of a cone. The narrow ends of these conical por- tions point in different directions, namely towards each , other. A pair of jaws 44 and 45 are associated with the carrier 5 and arranged to co-operate with the pivot pin 40. The upper jaw 44 has a curved shape and at the opposite end thereof it is rigidly attached to two arcuate links 46,46' each of which being hingedly connected to the carrier 5 by a first hinge 47 as well as hingedly connected to a jack or piston-cylinder-mechanism 49 by a second hinge 48 , said jack¬ et in turn being hingedly connected to the carrier 5 at 50. The hinge 48 forms part of a transverse member 51 to which the piston rod of the jack 49 is attached. Two concave, par¬ tially conical surfaces 52,52' are formed on the under side of the jaw, the shape of said surfaces corresponding to the shape of the conical surfaces 43,43' of the pivot pin 40. Analogously the jaw 45-rigidly ' attached to the carrier 5 in¬ cludes two concave, partially conical surfaces 53,53' cor¬ responding to said conical surfaces 43,43' of the pin 40. The function of the disclosed, combined locking and pi- voting mechanism is evident from the drawings. In the open condition shown in fig 7 the jaw 44 is, by means of the jack 49, withdrawn to a position remote from the jaw 45 in which position the pivot pin 40 is free to either move away from the fixed jaw 45 or moved in contact therewith. In the clo- sed position according to fig 8 the pivot pin 40 is - by re¬ turning the bucket 4 to the initial position by means of the main jack 33 - brought in contact with the jaw 45 and clam¬ ped between that jaw and the moveable jaw 44, more precisly by a force settled by the pressure in the jack.49. By the fact that the pivot pin includes two opposed co¬ nical surfaces co-operating with corresponding contact sur¬ faces of the two jaws, not only a holding of the bucket rela¬ tive to the carrier is achieved in said closed condition, but also a firm locking of the bucket against displacement thereof alongthe length of the pivot pin. OMPI Conceivable modifications of the invention It should be emphasized that the universal loading device described above has been schematically illustrated in the drawings while using simple symbols. In its prac- tical realization the device may therefore be composed of components the shape of which more -or less distinctly differs from what has been shown in the drawings. Thus, for instance, it is possible to modify the structure of the carrier 5 in many ways, e.g. by using a continous plate in- stead of two separate uprights 17,18. The main jack 33 may be placed behind this plate or said uprights instead of in front thereof as shown in the drawings. Further it is possible to use two jacks for the pivotal movement of the bucket in relation to the carrier instead of only one, one of said jacks being allowed to follow the bucket idling when the other jack is actuated. Further it is conceivable to provide specific supports on the underside of the bottom wall 11 of the bucket, said supports being firmly united with the carrier 5 and being arranged to increase the re- sistibility of the bottom wall when using the bucket in the tilted position shown in fig 2.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Universal loading device for wheeled vehicles, com¬ prising a bucket(4) having a substantially flat bottom wall (11), a back wall(12) making an angle, preferably about 90° with said bottom wall, and two gable walls(13,14) located at the short ends thereof, as well as a carrier(5) carrying the bucket, said carrier being in turn preferably releasably connected to a conventional lift arm system(2) by means of which the carrier and accordingly the bucket can be raised and lowered between various levels in relation to the ground of the vehicle as well as tilted about a first axis(9) ex¬ tending at an angle, preferably perpendicularly to the di¬ rection of travel or length of the vehicle so as to make it possible to adjust the bucket between on one hand a primary position in which the bottom wall(11) thereof is substan¬ tially horizontal and on the other hand a tilted position in which the bottom wall(11) is substantially vertical and the back wall(12) horizontal and pointing forwardly from the bottom wall, the bucket(4) being pivotally connected to the carrier(5) in order to allow the bucket to be pivoted about a second axis which makes an angle, preferably 90° with said first axis or tilting axis(9) and which is horizontal when the bottom wall is horizontal, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the carrier(5) includes two spaced-apart mecha¬ nisms(20 ,21 ;40 ,44,45 ) each of which can serve as a lock for locking the bucket in relation to the carrier as well as a pivot for making possible said pivotal movement of the buck¬ et in relation to the carrier, the bucket being optionally pivotable about one of the two mechanisms(20 ,2 ;40,44,45 ) irrespective of whether the carrier is in said tilted po¬ sition or not, and that both of said gable walls(13,14) are hingedly connected to the bottom wall(11) and pivotable be¬ tween on one hand a primary position in which the individual gable wall extends at an angle, preferably 90° to the bottom wall and contacts or otherwise tightens against the back wall and on the other hand a plurality of arbitrary pivoted positions one of which being a position in which the gable wall extends in the same plane as the bottom wall(11) and in extension thereof, the device being, without removal from said lift arm system(2), serviceable at least as a conven- tional bucket (with the bucket in said primary position), as a side tipping bucket (with the bucket pivoted about one of said mechanisms and with one of the gable walls moved to a pivoted position in relation to the bottom wall) and as a plowing blade (with the bucket tilted about said first axis as well as pivoted about one of said mechanisms and with at least one of said gable walls moved to said pivoted posi¬ tion) . 2 . Uni vers al l oadi ng devi c e , c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the carrier(5) includes a long bar(16) which is parallel with said tilting axis(9) and located in the vicini¬ ty of the lower part of the back wall(12) and which includes one or more connecting members(17 , 18) , e.g. two uprights, which are located in a plane being substantially parallel with the back wall(12) and comprises means(6,8) for detach¬ able mounting of the carrier on the lift arm system(2) of the vehicle(1), the two locking and pivoting mechanisms (20 ,2 ;40 ,4 ,45) being arranged in the vicinity of the oppo¬ site ends of said bar, and that said connecting members (17,18) include male elements(29 , 29 ' ) being remote from the bar(16) and being intended to engage corresponding female elements (30,30 ' ) attached to the back wall(12) in the vici- • nity of the top edge thereof, when the bucket assumes said primary position. 3. Universal loading device according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that one end of a jack(33) for pivoting the bucket(4) is preferably permanently, though hingedly connected to the bar(16) at a point situated appro- ximately half-way between said mechanisms (20 ,21 ;40 ,44,45 ) , while the opposite end of the jack is connectable to one of. two brackets(34,35 ) placed on the back wall(12) of the bucket, preferably in the vicinity of the two short ends thereof. 4. Universal loading device according to anyone of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that each locking and pivoting mechanism(20 ,21 ) comprises a cy¬ lindrical pin(27) arranged to lock the bucket by being in¬ serted into corresponding holes(24,26) in two spaced-apart and substantially parallel shank plates (22 ,23) rigidly fixed on the carrier(5) as well as into an intermediate plate(25) snugly fitting in between said shank plates, said inter¬ mediate plate being in turn rigidly united with the bucket (4), and that said pin(27) is associated with or forms part of a jack(28) by means of which the pin is axially moveable between a locking position in engagement with said holes and a releasing position out of contact with said holes. 5. Universal loading device according to anyone of claims 1 to 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the combined locking and pivoting mechanism(40,4 ,45 ) comprises a pivot pin(40) preferably united with the bucket(4) and ha¬ ving two cone-shaped elements(43 ,43 ' ) which are located along a common axis and the narrow ends of which point in diffe¬ rent directions, e.g. towards each other, as well as a pair of jaws(44,45) preferably associated with the carrier(5), each of said jaws having partially conical contact surfaces (52,52 ' ,53,53 ' ) arranged to co-operate with the conical sur¬ faces of said pivot pin elements(43,43 ' ) and at least one(44) of said jaws being moveable towards and away from the other one(45) between on one hand a closed condition in which the jaws jointly clutch the pivot pin(40) with the conical sur- faces(43,43 ' ) contacting the conical surfaces(52 ,52 ' ,53 ,53 ' ) of the jaws, and on the other hand an open condition in which the pivot pin may be removed from the jaws. 6. Universal loading device according to claim 5, c h a - r a c t e r i z e d i n that a first jaw(45) is rigidly united with the carrier(5) while the other jaw(44) is atta¬ ched to at least one link(46) which is hingedly connected to the carrier by a first hinge(47) as well as to a jack(49) by means of a second hinge(48), the link and accordingly the second jaw(44) being moveable between said open and closed conditions by means of said jack(49). IfURE-rC, OMPI

Inventors: TRYGGSTAD JAN-AOKE, TRYGGSTAD, JAN-AOKE
Applicants: TRYGGSTAD JAN AOKE, TRYGGSTAD, JAN-AOKE
Application year: 1983
Main classification: E02F3
IPC codes: E02F3