Patent GB-190416097-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Apparatus for Excavating Earth and the like Material.
Inventor: FULCHER WILLIAM HENRY
Filed: 1904-07-20
Granted: 1905-01-05
Abstract: 16,097. Fulcher, W. H., and Murphy, H. July 20. Excavating; dredging. - Con - sists in apparatus for digging and removing earth and similar material to form ditches, canals, embankments, and the like, which may also be used for dredging. Fig. 1 shows a side elevation, Fig. 2a front elevation, and Fig. 3 a plan of the machine. The operating machinery is mounted on a platform A which is supported by the frame 7 of the travelling wheels 2. These wheels are supported, as shown in Fig. 7, in forks 4 which are pivoted to bolts 5, and these bolts are connected to arches 6 which are fixed to the frames 7. The axle-boxes 3 of the wheels are fixed to the curved angle-irons 9 which are sunk in the frames 7. The wheels are turned by means of cables 9<a> wound on drums 16 and passed around the angle-irons 9. The drums 16 are mounted on the shafts 14, 15 which are driven from the main driving-shaft 11 through toothed gearing 12, 13. At one end of the frame A, vertical posts 24 are arranged in guides and have racks 25 fixed to them. Pinions 26 arranged on shafts driven by worm gearing 28 engage these racks and so raise or lower the frame carrying the ploughs 30 and buckets 31. The timbers or posts 24 are shod at 34, and, during the operation of the machine, these posts are forced into the ground to steady the apparatus. The ploughs and buckets are secured to flexible racks which are in turn secured to wire ropes or cables 32 passing over pulleys 33 at the corners of the vertically-moving frame. The position of the shafts carrying these pulleys is adjusted by screws 85 working in nuts 86 fixed to the vertical posts 24. The flexible racks carrying the buckets are formed of teeth secured to the cables 32 and engaging in recesses 36 in the wheels 33. The ploughs and buckets are jointed to lugs 35<a> by intermediate links 39 at the front, and are hinged at the rear, so forming a flexible connection. When a bucket reaches the point of discharge, a latch. which holds the bottom of the bucket closed, is released by a projection, and the contents of the bucket are discharged, gradually at first and then fully, by arranging a stop to limit the opening of the bottom. When the bucket reaches another point of its travel, the bottom is closed by another projection. At the upper part of their travel, the buckets are supported by rollers 44 running on tracks 45. These tracks are cut away at the part where the bottom of the bucket opens and support is then given by the lugs 35<a> running on tracks 46. At the bottom, the rollers 44 run between two tracks 45<a>. The shaft 50 is driven from the shaft 11 and the wormwheels 28 are driven by the shaft 50 through a clutch 53. The ploughs and buckets are driven from the shaft 50 by the chain gearing 57, 58. A drum 55 is mounted on the same shaft as the sprocket-wheel 57, and a rope or chain 60 passes around this drum and around the drums 56, 61, and then around a spring-controlled sliding pulley 62 back to the drum 55. The pulleys 33 are mounted on the same shafts as the drums 56, 61. Tho tensioned pulley 62 takes up any slack in the rope 60 which may be caused through the movement of the frame carrying the ploughs and buckets. The material is discharged from the buckets on an inclined shoot 65, from which it falls on a travelling band 66 driven from the shaft of the drum 56 by the chain gearing 67, 68, 69. In order to move the whole apparatus forward, back, or sidewise, winding-drums are fixed upon shafts on the frame 7. The clutches, which are arranged in the driving- gear of the apparatus for digging and discharging for the purpose of starting, stopping and reversing the various operations, are shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The internal parts C are made in the form of two semicircles supported on the shaft by arms D. These semicircles are forced into contact with the member B by the action of sliding wedgeshaped keys F on the screws I in the levers E. These levers have cam-shaped ends for separating the parts C. The wedges F are attached to the sliding collar G. The bearings of the pulleys 33, shown in Fig. 9, are protected from dust and the like on one side by means of counterbores made in the inner sides of the shoes 34 and surrounding the shaft 77, so that the hubs 81 of the pulleys enter into these counterbores. On the other side, the collars 82 protect the bearings. Fig. 8 shows the spools 83 for carrying the discharge belt of the apparatus made with concavo-convex ends or flanges, the concavities being presented outwards to prevent dirt from falling into the wearing parts.