US2360282A - Loading machine - Google Patents

Description

tl0, 944 J. D. RUSSELL.

LOADING- MACHINE Original Filed July 5, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet l 'NVENTOR M www cfm, l@ lff- J. DQ RUSSELL.

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INVENTOR Original Filed Jul-J Patented Oct. 10,-1944 2,360,282 n LoAmNG MACHINE John D. Russell, Sugarcreek Township, Venango County, Pa., assignor to Joy Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Continuation of application Serial No. 282,582,`- July 3, 1939. This application March- 15, 1941,

Serial No. 383,527

s claims. (ci. 19a-1o) This invention relates to machines for loading lump and broken material in a loose or semisolid condition, and in particular to improvements in the drive mechanisms employed Xin mobile loading machines of the .type used to gather coal at the working face of an underground mine, and to deliver the coal so gathered into mine cars or onto conveyors or other suitable transporting devices which move the coa'lto the surface, and is a continuation of my cci-pending application Serial No. 282,582, filed July 3, 1939.

'Ihe principal object of this invention is to provide a mobile loading machine, having an improved drive mechanism whereby it is capable of being advanced continuously at a relatively slow speed during the loading operation, and of being moved lfrom one working place to another at a relatively high tramming speed, during non'- loading periods. 1

Another object is to provide a mobile loading machine, having-an endless loading conveyor and a gathering mechanism for moving the material to be loaded onto the conveyor, in which the conveyor and the gathering means are independently operated or driven, whereby the conveyor will continueto operate and carry away the material thereon, although the gathering mechanism may be overloaded and stalled as a result of a fall of coal thereon, and thus materiallyincrease the output of the machine. y

Further, with this improvement, the operator is able by intermittently operating the conveyor while continuously operating the gathering mechanism, to fully load the conveyor during the interval occasioned by the changing of mine vcars or other transporting devices back of the loader, and thus have a large quantity of coal ready for delivery as soon as an empty car has been placed in ai position to receive the same. Also my invention permits thel operator to clean up the ioor of the room where there may be small quantities ofA scattered coal vat the end of -the loading operation without the need of waiting for a, car to be spotted back of1 the loader.A

Anotheradvantage of such independent drives resides in the tact that the gatherlngmechanism andthe conveyor/may each be driven .with the optimum driving force or requirements, and since the driving force required to drive the conveyor is substantially lessthan the, driving force'l re- -quired 'to secure a digging action of the gathering a mechanism, it is'obvious that breakage of the conveyordue to coal becoming wedged between the conveyor'and the roof loi the mine is materially reduced and minimized in aloader equipped with my invention over that encountered in loaders where the conveyor and gathering mechanism are both driven by the same motivating force and no means are provided which-permit independent opera'tion thereof.

A still further object is toprovide a mobile loader having an endless conveyor extending throughout its length and a gathering mechanism for delivering coal onto the conveyor in which two independent motors mechanically interconnected are employed for driving the gather- 'ing mechanism and the traction wheels of the loader, and a separate motor is employed for driving the conveyor, and in which a mechanism is interposed between each.traction wheel and its respective driving motor, whereby a positive slow speed drive is obtained during the loading .y

operation and a high speed drive is obtained for trammlng the machine from one working place to another.

. A stillfurther'v object is to provide a self-propelled wheeled loading machine having a conveyor frame, and a gathering mechanism pivotally supported lon a common axis, which are capable of being turned about their common pivot and in which means are provided for raising the conveyor frame relative to a portion of its sup- Aporting wheels.

These and other objects which twill hereinafterl be made apparent to those slrilled in this particular art, are accomplished by means of this invention, one embodiment of which is described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

CEig. 1 is a top plan view of a loading machin made in accordance with myinvention, having a portion thereof cut away for convenience of 1 illustration;

, Fig. 1, and showing the drive for the conveyor:

Fig. 2a is a transverse section through the body 'of the-loader showing thewiieel mounting and steering device;

l".wlieel mountingA device having a portion of the Fig. 2b is a sction'through the axle di the cylinder broken away for convenience. of illustration;

`Fig; 3 is an enlarged lsectional view-tak'enon line III-111 of Fig. 2 illustrating the steering Jmechanism and the driveforathe conveyor of the loader:

Fig. 4 is an enlarged' sectional view taken on line IV-IV of Fig. 3:

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan viewof the gathering l head Hof' the loader, having a portion thereof broken away to show the drive for the traction ,wheels and gathering arms; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line VI-VI of Fig. 5.

In the drawings I have shown a loader embodying my invention adapted particularly for loading coal from the iioor of a mine chamber into mine cars,-or other suitable coal receiving recep tacles for. transportation from the working face to suitable coal discharging tipple or station.

As illustrated, my improved loader In comprises a frame or body of substantially box-like construction, having a forward section and a rear section joined or articulated together on a `ver tical axis IIa to permit lateral swinging movement of the rear section. The forward end of the 'frame II is supported on a transversely extending mechanism for the loader and comprises an axle I5a for receiving the wheel I4, projecting outwardly from a cast member |51) having a collar |5c at its upper end which is adapted to slide on a vertically disposed shaft |5d. Shaft |5d is mounted between the top and bottom legs I 5e-I5f, respectively, of a substantially U shaped bracket I45g having its base secured to the side wall of the frame II.

' The lower end of the cast member |5b is curved inwardly toward the sides of the frame I I and is connected to the lower end of a hollow piston rod |5h operating in a vertically disposed cylinder I5k, the bottom of which is secured to a plate I51 extending underneath the bottom leg |5f of the bracket I5y and pivoted on the bottom of the shaft |5d. The top of the cylinder |5k is closed by and `secured to a plate I5m extending over the top of the upper leg I5e of the bracket |5g and pivoted on the top of the shaft |5d.

In order to turn the wheels I4, each bottom plate I51 is provided with a portion |5n extending ,beyond the shaft |5d. A rod |50 connects the Vany desired direction and the loaderguided to any desired location. l

The cylinder |51: is of the singleactng type and by admittiri'gfnuid under pressure to the top of the cylinder above the upper end of the piston rod |5h, it is seen that the frame |I will be elevated relative to the wheels I4 (which restl on the ground) and the' frame I| will therefor be swung in a, vertical plane about the axle I2 thus which is pivotally mounted thereon for movement in a vertical plane, and appropriate hydraulic jacks I1 are interposed between the bottom of the head and the forward end of the frame II for raising and lowering the head as desired.

The central portion of the head I6 is longitudinally depressed to provide a conveyor pan section I8 therein registering with and opening into a conveyor pan section I9 of substantially channel shape in section which forms the upper deck of the frame I I. Material is carried through the pan sections |8-|9 by an endless chain 20 having nights 2|. secured thereto at intervals along its length. At the forward end of the loader the chain 20 passes around a guide sprocket -on a cross shaft 22 journaled in the head I5, and

at the rear end of the loader around a suitable idlersprocket and shaft (not shown) mounted in the side walls of the frame II. The return reach of the chain 20 is supported on the lower deck 24 of the frame I I.

In order to drive the chain 20 the return reach thereof is constantly maintained in engagement with a drive sprocket 25 carried by a transversely extending drive shaft 26 journaled in the side walls of the frame l Drive shaft 26 has a gear -21 splined on one end thereof, which is driven 'by a pinion 28, carried by a gear 29, mounted on a stub shaft 30. Gear 29 in turn meshes with a pinion 3| secured to a relatively short shaft 32, having a clutch element 33 slidably mounted thereon for movement into and out of engagement with a clutch element 34 secured to a drive shaft 35 whereby when the clutch elements.

33--34 are engaged, shaft 32 will be driven from the shaft 35. Shaft 35 is driven through a worm gear 36 securedthereto which meshes with Ia worm 31 on the drive shaft 38` of a suitable electric motor 39. Shaft 35 also drives a pump 40.

In order to maintain the chain 20 in constant engagement with the sprocket 25, an idler chain engaging roller` 4I--42 is provided on each side of the sprocket 25 to hold the chain against the sprocket. Rollers 4|-42 are mounted on transverse shafts 43-44 journaled in the frame II.

Coalis delivered to the conveyor pan section I8 by a pair of gathering arms 50 mounted on the forward end of the gathering head I6, and arranged to travel in a non-circular orbital path. substantially as shown and described in U. S.

. Letters Patent No'. 1,306,064, granted to Joseph varying the elevation of the discharge end o f the loader. A

In order to absorb road shock during the tramming of the loader, a compression spring |5t is F. Joy.

The gathering arms 50 are mounted on crank arms 5`| journaled in the head I6 on opposite sides of the conveyor pan section I8, and the gathering arms are caused to travel in the desired path by links 52 pivoted to the arms 50 and to thehead I6. Each crank arm 5I has a spiral gear 53 secured thereto inside the head I6 which meshes with a spiral pinion 54 on a cross shaft 55, journaled in the head and mechanically inter-connecting the arms 50.

In order to rotate the gathering arms 50 with the optimum driving force, and at the same time to slowly advance the machine during the loading operation, a pair of reversible electric motors 50 are mounted on the frame II, one on each side thereof, for selectively driving the drive wheels I3 and the shaft 55, or f or driving both the wheels I3 and the shaft 55 at one and the same time. Each motor 6o has a pinion 6l, secured to the armature shaft thereof, which meshes with a gear 62 carried by a shaft 63 extending longitudinally of and journaled in a gearbox 64. Shaft 63 has'a worm 66 thereon which meshes with a worm gear 66 carried by a clutch element 61 from that in which it was rotated whne connected to the clutch element 61, and, as a result, the

loosely mounted on a cross shaft 68, which is j journaled in the gear case 64 and forms Vthe drive shaft for the wheels I3. To drive the wheels I3, a sprocket 69 is secured to the end of the shaft 68 which drives a chain 10 passing around a sprocket 1I carried by the hub of the wheel I3.

The ,shaft 63 also has a bevel pinion 12 secured thereto which meshes with a bevel gear 13 carried by a clutch element -14 loosely mounted on 'a cross shaft 15 journaled in the gear box 6,4. The shaft 15 is geared to the shaftv 56 through the cooperating gears 16--11 secured to the shafts `1655, respectively. Clutch element 14 is connected by a sprocket chain 1B with a clutch element 19, which is loosely mounted on the shaft 68.

In order to connect the clutch element 14 with the shaft 1s, and drive the gathering arms 5o through the train of gears above described, a

'clutch/element 80 is splined to the shaft 15 and A11 cf the ciutches 61-14-19 arepreferamy of the spring loaded type so that they can be set to transmit the optimum driving forcefand will slip as soon as the driving arms are overloaded and thus prevent breakage of the machine.

'From the foregoing description it is apparent that when the motors 60 are energized the clutch elements 61-14 will be Ycontinuously driven in loader will be backed from underneath the coal at a relatively high tramming speed. As soon as'the arms 50 have been freed, and the overload removed, the clutch element 82 is again moved into 'engagement with the clutch 61 to slowly readvance the machine into the coal to lbe loaded.

Since the motors 60 are reversible, it is apparent that the machine can be readily moved in either direction at a high speed or at a low speed. For example, if the machine is being driven forward at a slow loading speed and the clutch 62 is operated to back the machineaway from the working face at a high speed, the machine can be readily driven forward at a high speed by simply reversing the motors 60 and leaving the clutch '82 in engagement with the clutch element 19.

During the tramming ofthe machine the clutch member 80 may-or may not be thrown out of eligagement with the clutch 14. However, in order to secure the greatestdegree of safety it is pre- 33 is shown with an operating collar for sliding the elements on their respective shafts, it is to be understood .that any type of mechanism may be used to throw the clutches out, as desired, without departing from my invention.

Power for driving the electric motors 3 9 and 60 is delivered to the machine from a suitable opposite directions and at different speeds, since one revolution of the shaft 63 will rotate the clutch element 61 by only one or two teeth of the form gear 66, dependingv on whether the worm 65 is a single or double thread, but will rotate the clutch element M through a distance equal to the periphery of the pinion 12, consequently the clutch element 1d will rotate at a considerably higher speed than clutch element 61. At the same time clutch element 19, which is driven from the clutch element 14 through the sprocket chain 18, will rotateat substantially the same speed as the clutch element 14 and in the same directionc as that clutch element but oppositely to the clutch element 61.

When the machine is in loading position. the operator throws the clutch element 80 into engagement with the clutch element 14 to operatively connect the shaft15 with the shaft 55 and drive the gatheringv arms 50. To advance the source of supply through a suitable cable, which is adapted to be wound on an automatic spool reel |00 mounted on a vertical axis within the frame Il and below the bottom deck 24 thereof. The cable is connected to the motors in the usual manner and the spooling device is so driven that when the 'machine is driven away from the source of power the 'cable is played out, and when it is moved toward the source of power, the cable is automatically wound up or reeled in.

the arms, when operating to gather coal, are mechanically interconnected through the shaft 55, and the wheels I3 are positively driven at a relat tively slow Speed vto continuously advance the loader. Whenthe machine is tramming, howu ever, that is moving from one working place to loader continuously during the loadingoperation -v and thus keep the head I6 against the coal, the

clutch element 82 is moved into engagement with the clutch element -61 whereby the wheels I3 are positively driven forward` at a relatively slow speed toryfeed the machine forward. Should the gathering arms become overloaded or stalled during the loading operation as the result of a falllof coal over the front end of 'the machine, the

clutch82 is disengaged -by the operator from the;

clutch element 61, which stops the advance of the machine, and is-thrown into engagement with the clutchelement 19, which is rotating at a higher peripheral speed and in the'opposite-direction from that of .the clutch element 61. As

the clutch element 82 engages the clutch 19, the

shaft 6 ,8 will be rotated in the reverse direction another inthe mine chamber, the vclutch members 'M -80 may be disengaged, which not only throws the gathering arms 50 and the drive shaft 55 out of operation, but also removes the :ne-

chanical connection between the motors, and, as

a result, the full powerfeach motor is delivered directly to the traction wheel I3 driven therefrom,

. whereby positive traction is obtained on each wheel, and spinning of one wheel relative to the other is eliminated even though the machine may be traveling over uneven and rough surfaces.A

.be operated with the optimum power requirements, and the gathering arm clutches can be so-set that the gathering' arms will develop sumcient power to dig coal standing in a semi-solid y condition without subjecting the conveyor'to any i Y undue strain, which might result in breakage of falling thereon to the discharge end of the loader,

whereas in the machines now in general use, the stalling of the gathering mechanism/ also stops the operation of the conveyor since both are driven from the same drive shaft.

Jacks I1, cylinders l5k and |5s are all hydraulically operated with fluid supplied from the pump 40, and the usual piping having control valves therein (which form no part of the present invention) employed to controlthe delivery of actuating iiuid from the pump to each of the aforesaid cylinders. Each of the clutch elements 33, 80 and 82 may likewise be moved back and forth Y on their respective shafts 32, and 68 by hydraulic pressure, in 'which event suitable jacks or cylinders are provided having their piston rods attached to the actuating collars of the slidable clutch elements in the usual manner.

While I have described one embodiment of my invention, it is apparent that I am not limited to the exact details shown, but 4that certain changes, modifications, substitutions or omissions may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Mechanism for driving the traction wheels and gathering devices of a mobile loader comprising a drive shaft operatively connected to one of said traction wheels, a pair of members loosely mounted on said shaft, a drive shaft operatively connected to said gathering devices, a clutch member rotatably mounted on said last mentioned shaft, means connecting said clutch member with one of the members on said first mentioned drive shaft, means for driving said clutch member and the member on said traction wheel drive shaft connected thereto at a relatively high speed, means for driving the other of said members on said first mentioned drive shaft in the opposite direction from said clutch member and at a relatively-slow speed, means for selectively connectof continuously driven by said motor, means for connecting said 'element of said single acting clutch to a second element of said double acting clutch whereby said last mentioned element is continuously driven in a direction opposite to that of the other continuously driven member of said double acting clutch, means for selectively driving lsaid traction member from either driven member of said double acting clutch, and means for selectively driving said gathering device from the continuously driven member of such single acting clutch.

3. Mechanism for driving the traction members and gathering devices of a mobile loader,

comprising a motor, a shaft driven by said motor, a drive shaft operatively connected to one of said traction members, a clutch member mounted for rotation on said drive shaft and driven at a slow speed from said motor shaft, a drive shaft operatively connected to said gathering device, aclutch member mounted'for rotation on said last mentioned drive shaft and driven at a relatively high speed from said motor shaft, a second clutch element mounted on the drive shaft of said traction member, means for driving said last mentioned clutch member from theclutch member on the in either direction and at different speeds, and

ing either of said first mentioned members to said traction wheel drive shaft, and means for connecting said clutch member to said gathering device drive shaft to operate said gathering devices.

2. The combination in a coal loading machine having a frame provided with an endless conveyor and a pair of gathering devices for `de livering'coal onto said conveyor, of traction members for supporting said frame, a separate motor for driving each traction member and one of said gathering devices, a double acting clutch interposedl in the drive of each of said motors for controlling the operation of the traction member driven thereby, and having one element thereof continuously driven by said motor, a single acting clutch interposed in the drive of said motor for controllingv the operation of the gathering device driven thereby and having one element theremeans for connecting the clutch member on the drive shaftfor said gathering device to said shaft to operate said gathering device.

4.A In a mobile loading machine a frame, traction members supporting said frame, a gathering head pivotally mounted on said frame and having rotatable gathering devices thereon and means for driving said traction members and said gathering devices, including a shaft journaled in said head for. driving said traction members, a shaft journaled in vsaid head for driving said gathering devices, a pair of members loosely mounted on said traction drive shaft, means for selectively connecting either of said members to said traction drivey shaft, a member loosely mounted on said gathering device drive shaft,

means for connecting said member to said gathering .device drive shaft and a motor for driving one of the members on said traction drive shaft and the member on said gathering device drive shaft in opposite directions and at different speeds, the 'member on said gathering device drive shaft having a driving connection with the other of said members on said traction drive shaft. 1

5. A mechanism for driving the traction mem- A bers and gathering device of a mobile loading machine comprising a shaft for driving said traction members, a shaft for driving said gathering device, a plurality of members loosely mounted on said traction drive shaft, means for selectively connecting either of said members to said traction drive shaft, a member loosely mountedon said gathering device-drive shaft, means for connecting said member to said .gathering device drive shaft and means for driving one of the members on said traction drive shaft and the memberon said gathering head drive shaft in .opposite directions and at different. speeds, the member on said gathering device drive shaft having a driving connection with the other of said members on said tractionl drive shaft.

.6. A mechanism for driving the traction members and gathering device of a, mobile loader comprising a shaft for driving said traction members, a foot shafttor driving said gathering devi, an intermediate shaft connected t said foot shaft, a plurality of members loosely mounted on seid drive shaft, a member loosely `mounted on said intermediate shaft, means for driving one of said members on said drive shaft and the member on said intermediate shaft in opDOsite 10 4the members on said drive shaft to drive said traction members` and means for connecting the o member on said intermediate shaft to drive said foot shaft and gathering devices. A

JOHN n. RUSSELL.

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