Digger With Supporting Base Pivotable on Transversible Member

The present invention relates to a digger with a bucket crane, and more particularly to a digger with a bucket crane turnable on a digger carrier.

The prior digger usually comprises a carrier 1 with a stage, and a base 2 for supporting a bucket crane 3, the base 2 directly pivoted to the stage at a center position 4. Accordingly, under road construction, the bucket crane 3 is turned is turned behind the carrier 4 through one side way 5 of a subject road opposite to the work area 6 as shown in FIG. 1, so as to transport soil and sand to a truck 7 driving belong the carrier 1 with progress of the digging operation, whereby the traffic should be occasionally controlled so as to stop vehicles on the opposite way 5 in order to avoid clash danger to the bucket crane.

The other prior digger has already been proposed so as to transport soil and sand with bucket crane, without passing through the opposite way of the road, from the front of the carrier to the back thereof. Demerit of the mechanism is a point that a digger cannot be dug to the road side with it being disposed on the road way.

An object of the present invention is to provide a digger which can be operated to transport soil and sand from the front of a carrier to the back thereof without blocking traffic on one side way of a subject road opposite to the road construction.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a digger which can dig the side of a road with it being disposed on the rod.

The other objects and features of the present invention will be apparently described with reference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the prior art digger already indicated to this text for comparison with that of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of a digger of this invention illustrated as transport soil and sand with a bucket;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the digger of FIG. 2 illustrated in detail;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the digger of FIG. 2 illustrated in detail but with the bucket shown in a side position;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the digger of FIG. 2 illustrated in detail;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of essential parts of this invention which are illustrated in demounted condition;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic plan view of a digger of this invention digging the road side;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of essential parts of another embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of essential parts of the this embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of essential parts of the fourth embodiment of this invention;

FIGS. 11(a) to FIG. 11(c) are plan views of the essential parts of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of essential parts of the fifth embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 13 is a circuit of an oil-pressure control system for essential parts of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of essential parts of the sixth embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic construction of a control mechanism for essential parts of FIG. 14.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 6, there is provided a digger of this invention which comprises a carrier 11 with four wheels 12 juxtaposed to both sides of the carrier 11, the carrier 11 having a stage 13 formed on the upper portion so as to have a flat surface and four trestles 14 for fixedly supporting the carrier 11 on the earth; a transversible member 15 disposed on the stage 13; a supporting base 16 pivoted to the transversible member 15 about a perpendicular axis; and means 17 for operating a digger mechanism 18 with a bucket crane 19.

On the stage 13 a circular rail 20 is mounted for guiding the transversible member 15, the center of the circular pitch of rail in this embodiment being defined to the center of the rotation of the transversible member 15 pivoted to the stage 13.

The transversible member 15 includes a plurality of bearings 15a moving along the guide rail 20, and a trunnion 15b rotatably inserted into a circular gear 21 fixedly disposed on the stage 13.

The essential parts of this invention are indicated in FIG. 6 in detail, i.e., there are provided a gear 22 rotatably supported on the transversible member 15 and intermeshed or engaged with the gear 21, a driving motor 23 operatively connected to the gear 22 and attached to the transversible member 15, a gear 24 intermeshed or engaged with the gear 22, and a conical bearing 25 rotatably supported in a bearing hole 26 formed in the transversible member 15, the conical bearing 25 being attached to the supporting base 16 and adapted to secure the gear 24 to the bottom axial end thereof.

The bucket crane 19 comprises, as already well known, a supporting block 19a with a hinge member 19b mounted on the suporting base 16, a first beam 19c one end of which is pivoted to the hinge member 19b, a second beam 19d one end of which is pivoted to the other end of the beam 19c, a bucket 19e pivoted to the other end of the beam 19d, piston cylinder assemblies 19f, 19g and 19h actuated by oil pressure and interposed between the hinge member 19b and beam 19c, the beams 19c and 19d, the beam 19d and bucket 19e, respectively.

In this embodiment, the gear ratio of the gears 21, 22 and 24 should be suitably selected, for example, as 134, 90, 53 teeth. Therefore, the transversible member 15 can be turned along the rail 20 and the supporting base 16 can also be turned in the opposite rotating direction when the motor 23 is driven.

Accordingly, when the soil and sand is carried by crane 19 from the front of the carrier 11 to the back of the carrier 11 and to a truck 26, the bucket 19e travels along a track x, for example, formed to an oval orbit. The track x is indicated on the carrier 11 or near to the outside of the carrier 11 as shown in FIG. 2, thereby not to prevent the traffic on one side way 27 of the subject road, when the road construction is progressed on the opposite side way 28.

If the digger of this invention is operated to dig the road side portion 29, the transversible member 15 may be maintained to the suitable position of the stage 13 as shown in FIG. 7.

In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 8, the gear 22 is driven by means of a piston cylinder assembly 30 which comprises a cylinder 30a supplied with oil pressure, and a piston rod 30b connected to a piston (not shown) inserted to the cylinder 30a, the end of the cylinder 30a being pivoted to the carrier 11 and the end of the rod 30b rotatably supporting the axial shaft 30c fixedly secured to the gear 22, whereby the gear 22 can be rotated and turned to the periphery of the gear 21.

In the third embodiment as shown in FIG. 9, the transversible member 15 is driven by means of a driving motor 31, the gears 21 and 24 are exchanged to sprockets 21a and 24a between which an endless chain 32 is stretchedly wound, and the gear 22 is eliminated.

Accordingly, when the motor 31 is driven, the transversible member 15 is turned to a rotating direction and the supporting base 16 is rotated to an opposite direction via the sprocket-chain assembly mentioned above.

In the fourth embodiment as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11(a) to (c), the transversible member 15 is driven by means of the same driving motor 31 as that of the third embodiment, the gear 24 is free from the driving of the motor 31, the gear 24 being intermeshed with an internal gear 33 which is formed to the inside wall of the guide rail 33', and the gears 21 and 22 are eliminated. Accordingly, when the motor 31 is driven the transversible member 15 is turned to a rotating direction and the supporting base 16 is rotated to an opposite direction with the gear 24 being rotated along the guide rail 20 by gear-intermeshing.

In the fifth embodiment as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the essential parts of this embodiment almost are the same as that of the first embodiment except the fact that the gear 24 is eliminated and the supporting base 16 is driven by means of a separate motor 34. In this case, the motor 23 for driving the gear 22 and motor 34 for driving a pivot 35 formed to the bottom of the supporting base 16 are gear-pumping motors which are controlled for driving and stopping by means of spool valve 36. In order to supply oil pressure to the motors, there are provided a pump 37 having an engine which is usually used to running of the carrier 11, as well as an oil tank 38.

In the sixth embodiment as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the transversible member 15 has a pivot 39 driven by means of a motor (not shown) as shown in the third embodiment, and the supporting base 16 has a pivot 40 rotatably supported to a bearing hole 41 formed to the transversible member 15. The other parts of the essential parts of this invention consist of a pair of link rods 42 and 43 pivoted by pins 42a and 43a to prescribed positions spaced by identified distances from the pivot 39 in a front-rear direction of the carrier 11, a joint member 44 having a bearing hole 44a to rotatably support the pivot 40 and both ends pivoted by pins 44b and 44c which are spaced to the pivot 40 by the same distances as these of pins 42a and 43a, and a pair of intermeshing gears 45 and 46 which are engaged with the pivot 40 and pin 44c by means of keys 47 and 48, respectively.

Accordingly, when the transversible member 15 is turned for a suitable angle, the link rods 42 and 43 as well as the gears 45 and 46 act as the supporting base 16 is turned for the same angle as that of the transversible member 15 and having an opposite direction thereto, thereby to substantially transport the bucket 19e across the higher of the carrier 11 in a longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. 15.