Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to apparatus for grading
or otherwise operating on slopes, for example the bank~ of
rivers or the sides of cuts or fills in the building of roads
or waterways, whilst operating from positions at the top or
bottom of such slopes.
Machines capable of grading and otherwise operating
on slope~ are known, but commercially available machinec have
a somewhat limited reach which, whilst adequate for 6uch
purposes as grading the bank~ of ditches, and the sides of
- 10 cuts and fills of limited depth or height, have inadequate
; reach for certain applications, notably lengthy slopes where
acce~s for the apparatus is only available from the top of
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- the bank. Such conditions can arise with deep cuts or fills,
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and in particular with the banXs of large rivers where the
slope to be graded may extend well bel~w the water level.
Whilst it would no doubt be possible to develop
machines of existing types to improve their reach, ~uch
machine~ would be of a specialized nature and very expensive.
one kncwn mean~ of o~taining a greater reach is
provided by the dragline excavator in its variou~ forms, but --
~uch excavators are not generally capable of grading or other-
; wise working a ~lope to a precise profile, due to inadequate
control of the ground working tool.
The present invention provide~ economical means for
the grading of lengthy slopes in the form of an attachment
used in conjunction with a conventional jib crane.
Essentially, the device comprises a more or less
horizontal auxiliary jib mounted beneath the main jib of the
crane, a carriage movable fore and aft along the auxiliary jib,
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a guide frame extending forwardly from the carriage, a tool
carrier movable in either direction along the length of the
guide frame, and a suspension tie connecting the guide frame
to the jib of the crane. The tool carriage is provided with
a scraper blade or other tool appropriate to an operation to
be carried out, and is hauled usually upwardly, along the guide
frame by a cable operated by the winding gear of the crane.
Thi8 enables a required grading action to be achieved, and in
order to facilitate movement of the tool carrier in the downward
or rever~e direction, the blade or other tool may be hinged
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to the carrier.
The elevation of the scraper carriage relative to a
: surface being graded may be adjusted by moving the carriage fore
or aft on the auxiliary jib, and in order to enable differing
slopes to be graded, the inclination of the guide frame
relative to the carriage may be made adjustable. The ~uspension
tie will in most cases be rigid, so that the weight of the strut
and the crane jib will resist unwanted upward displacement of
the guide fra~e. Where the slope keing graded is largely under ~-
water, the load on the crane may be reduced by providing buoy-
ancy tanks at the forward end of the guide frame. The apparatus
may be utilized in conjunction with known forms of string line
control.
The invention is described further with reference to
~; the accompanying drawings, in which:
; Figure 1 is an elevation, showing apparatus according
to the invention being utilized on a river bank (the latter being
shown in section),
Figure 2 is a detail on an enlarged scale showing
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in perspective major portions of a device in accordance with
the invention, and
Figures 3 and 4 are details illustrating one aspect
of the operation of the device.
Figure 1 shows the device of the invention fitted to
a conventional jib crane 2, comprising a track laying under-
` carriage 4, a rotatable superstructure 6 housing winding gear,
and controlsJ and a jib 8, the elevation of which is controlled
by a stay 10. The construction of the crane forms no part of
the invention, and is only described insofar as i6 required forunderstanding the present invention. The capacity of the crane
should of course be sufficient to sustain the loadings applied
by the apparatu6 of the invention under the most unfavourable
conditions of use.
Pivoted to the rotating super~tructure 6 of the crane,
by a pivot pin 12 adjacent the pivot pin 14 securing the jib
8 is an auxiliary jib 16, comprising, as best seen in Figure 2,
two box section railæ 18 linked at their rear ends adjacent
the pivots 12 by a crosa me~ber 20 carrying clevises apertured
to receive the pivot pins 12.
A carriage 24 is mounted on the auxiliary jib 16 for
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fore and aft movement by means of sleeves 26 joined ~y cross
;; members 28, 30 and 32. The carriage also carrie~ guide sleeves
34 which extend at an angle to the sleeves 26, and are secured
to the sleeves 26, either fixedly, or preferably in such a
manner that the angles between the two sets of sleeves may ~e
adjusted about a pivotal axi~ 36. The carriage 24 may be moved
fore and aft on the auxiliary jib 16 by means of a hydraulic
actuator 38 connected to a hydraulic system on the crane. The
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1037254
actuator is a double acting piston and cylinder arrangement
~- operating between brackets attached to the cross members 20
and 32 respectively.
Extending forwardly and downwardly through the
; sleeves 34 are side rails 40 of a guide frame 42, the rails
40 being joined at top and bottom by cross members 44. The
guide frame may be moved relative to the carriage 24 by means
of double acting hydraulic actuators 46 acting between the
sleeves 34 and hydraulically operated clamps 48 slidably
mounted on the top flanges of the rails 40, which are of I
cross section. The frame 42 may be stepped up or down to any
desired position by appropriate alternate actuation of the
actuators 46 and the Clamp8 48, first on one side and then
the other.
The guide frame in turn supports a tool carrier 50
formed by a further carriage movable up and down the rails 40
guided by rollers 52 and 54 mounted on brackets 56 and 58 on
a frame 60. The tool carrier 50 may be hauled up the rails
40 by means of a cable 62 connected to a windlass 64 on the
frame 2. In order to avoid fouling, the cable passes over a
pulley 66 mounted on the cross member 30.
A tool in the form of a scraper blade 66 is attached
to the tool carrier by means of brackets 68 on the latter,
the tool being connected to the brackets by means of pivot pins
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~; 70. The tool is located relative to the frame by stop blocks
72 which engage the frame 60 when the tool carrier is hauled
; up the guide frame 42 by means of the cable 62. However, when
the tool carrier 50 moves downwardly, the blade 66 can hinge
about the pins 70 into a trailing position as shown in Figure 4.
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The rails 40 of the guide frame 42 are additionally
: connected near the lower ends of their top webs by a cross
member 74 which is pivotally attached by mean~ of a pivot
bracket 76 to a substantially vertically extending suspension
tie in the fonm of a strut 78 which is received in a bracket
80 pivotally connected to the outer end of the jib 8 of the
crane. A cable 82, actuated by the crane winding mechanism
and passing over pulley blocks 84 and 86, is used to adjust
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- the vertical position of the strut 78 and hence the angle assumed
by the guide frame 42 as the apparatus of the invention i~
lifted about the pivots 12.
In use, and as will be best understood by reference
to Figure 1, the crane 2 is positioned at the top of a 510pe
: to be graded. In the example shown, the slope concerned is
the bank of ariver or other waterway, and the major portion
of the slope to be graded i8 beneath the water level. In this
type of application, it is po~sible, if this is desirable in
order to reduce the loading on the crane, to attach near the
bottom of the frame 42 a buoyancy tank or tanks 88. However,
care should be taken not to counteract the weight of the
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apparatus to 6uch an extent that an inadeguate loading is applied ~:
to the scraper blade 66 during use.
Having positioned the crane 2, the angle of the guide
~; frame 42 i~ set so that it correfiponds to the de~ired angle of
the slope to be graded, by rai~ing or lowering the trut 78
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: and making any appropriate adjufitments to the relationship
between the tubular members 34 and 26. Additionally, the down-
ward and outward extent of the frame 42 is adjusted during this
operation by appropriate stepping actions utilizing the clamps
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48 and the actuators 46. The tool 66 is also brought into
the deqired relationship with the slope 90 by moving the carriage
24 along the auxiliary jib 16 by means of the actuator 38. The --
actual grading operation can then be carried out by hauling the
two cage 50 up the frame 42 by means of the cable 62, where
- upon the scraper blade 66 will carry out the grading operation.
The carriage is permitted to return to its lower position under
the action of gravity, during which the blade can assume a
trailing position shown in Figure 4 to avoid disrupting the work
already done.
Where it is desired to cut back a bank through some
distance, then it will be under~tood that the carriage 24 may
be moved progressively rearwardly along the auxiliary jib 16
during successive stages of the cutting operation. Conver~ely,
where the apparatus is being used to ~pread beds of material
on the slope, the carriage 24 may be moved stepwise forwardly
i along the jib 16 during succes~ive stages of the operation as
the slope is built up.
~~ once one section--of ~lope has been graded, the crane
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2 may be moved forwardly along the bank to a new position and
~he operation repeated. Assuming that the length and angle of
the slope to be graded remains the same, the only setting of
the apparatus which should require readjustment during this
- operation is the position of the carriage 24. Correct posi-
tioning of the carriage may be facilitated or even automated by
use of a conventional string line system, comprising for example
a pendulum 92 su~pended from the carriage 24 (see Figure 1), and
a string line 94 previously set out along the top of the slope.
`` 1037Z54
It should be understood that the scraper blade 66
may be replaced by other forms of tool, as appropriate to the
operation being carried out. Thus where quantities of material
are to be removed, a bucket may be more appropriate than a
scraper blade. Alternatively, where the apparatus is to be used
to cut drainage channels into a bank or 610pe, a trenching tool
may be utilized.
Although the apparatus has been illustrated in use as
an attachment to a crane situated at the top of a slope to be
graded or otherwise operated upon, it should be understood that
the apparatus may readily be adapted for use with the crane
situated at the bottom of the slope. In this case, the angle
of the frame 42 relative to the jib 16 would be reversed, and it
would be nece sary for the cable 62 to be attached to the frame
60 of the tool carrier 50 via a pulley block situated at the
outer end of the guide frame 42. The strut 78 would of course be
elevated to an appropriate level. It will also be understood
that the strut 78 could in suitable instances be replaced by a
suspension tie formed by a simple cable connection. Hcwever,
care must be taken in this case that the load imposed upon the
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tool by the frame 42 and its associated partæ is sufficient to
enable proper guiding of the tool without unwanted displacements
of the frame by thrusts applied to it through the tool.
It will be seen that the invention, by means of a
relatively æimple attachment applicable to a conventional jib
crane, provides a versatile grading machine readily capable of
reaches considerably greater than those of conventional machines
available for this purpose.
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