US2485110A - Push-off hay stacker - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 18, 1949. s. s. POKORNY 2,485,110

PUSH-OFF HAY STACKER Filed oct. 22, 1947 2 sheds-sheet 1 IIII IHJUI Oct. 18, 1949. s. s. PoKoRNY PUSH-OFF HAY STACKER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed oct. 22, 1947 Patented Oct. 18, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to material handling and moving machinery and more particularly to material moving mechanisms designed for attachment to power vehicles.

Heretofore material lifting and moving mechanisms of the instant type have been constructed in a manner whereby the cradle or scoop thereof trips for dumping the entire load at one time.

To place a quantity of straw less than a full load in a desired place it has been necessary to pick up only that amount, returning the cradle frequently to pick up more straw. It has thus been impossible to build a hay or straw stack in an accurate manner without loss of time with partial-load scoops.

It is therefor an object of this invention to provide a new material handling mechanism by means of which partial amounts of a larger load may be dumped at a selected point.

Another object of the invention is to provide a material lifting mechanism by means of which material may be stacked or piled more accurately and eiciently than heretofore.

Still another! object of the invention-resides in the provision of a device as described having a particularly eflicient manually controlled means for moving a selected part of a larger load from a cradle or scoop.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device as described employing a pressureoperated jack to supply load dumping power.

Other and still further objects and advantages of the invention will b-ecome apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the partial load dumping mechanism of the invention, shown as attached in an up position to a tractor, the latter as well as the down position of said mechanism being shown in dotted lines, and the ends of the tines of the hay-cradle being broken away;

Figure 2 is a detailed side elevation of the sliding connection between a moving cradle back and a back-moving arm employed, adjacent portions of the latter two elements being broken away;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the dumping mechanism and tractor as shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a view-in-section taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 1, portions of the two channeliron tracks on a cradle-back and a portion of one of the cradle-back moving arms employed not being Shown.

The material loading and moving mechanism of this invention is for attachment to a tractor, generally indicated at IIJ in dotted lines in Figures 1 and 3.

The loading mechanism is itself generally indikto dated at I2 in Figures 1 and 3 and includes two position adjacent the rear axle housing I6 of the tractor I0.

The booms I4 are pivotally secured by means of suitable bolts I8 to mounting brackets 20, and the latter are themselves suitably attached to the upper side of and at opposite ends of the axle housing I6.

The booms I4 are disposed in parallel alignment as seen in side elevation in Figure 1 and are interconnected at their forward ends by means of a suitable rear bracing member 24, the latter eX- tending transversely of the tractor I0. The booms I4 are maintained rigid and braced in a longitudinal plane by means of struts 26 which extend along the upper sides of the boom I4. The struts 26 are maintained spaced apart from the longitudinal center portions of the booms I4 by means of suitable Wings 30, and the struts 26 are secured to the booms I4 by bolts 32, disposed at either end of the struts 26.

Means are provided for raising and lowering the booms I4 and such means include a pair of hydraulic jacks having jack cylinders 34 one disposed beneath each one of the booms I4. The

jack cylinders 34 are pivotally mounted at their.'

rearward ends by means of pins 36 to a suitable mounting bracket secured to the frame of the tractor Ill. The points of pivotal connection formed by the pins 36 are each disposed beneath and preferably slightly forwardly of the pivotal connections formed by the bolts I8 at the rearward ends of the booms I4.

The jack pistons 40 are slidably mounted at their lower ends in the respective jack cylinders 34. At their upper ends, the piston rods 40 are secured to the lower side of their` respective booms I4 by means of connection plates 42 and bolts 44.

The rearward ends of the jack cylinders 34 are in communication with the hydraulic pump 50 of the tractor IIl, which on the illustrated tractor is best seen beneath the seat thereof in Figure 3. The connection between the lower ends of the jack cylinders 34 and the pump 5U is accomplished by means now to be described.

A pair of hose lines 50 and 52 are connected respectively to the jack cylinders 34. The other ends of the hose lines 50' and 52 are connected to a T or Y joint 54 and the latter is in communication at its other port 'with one outlet port or a multiple port control Valve 60'.

The multiple port control valve 66 is in communication with the pump 50 through a conduit 62, and the valve 6I] is provided with a second outlet port and tting 64, which latter is in communication with a load dumping or pushing jack to be later described. The control valve 60 may be hand-operated by means of a suitable handle 66 which is disposed within aconvenient reach of the driver of the tractor I0.

The material carrying portion of the mechaclined upper edges 14 adjacent the forward extremities of the tines 12. forward extremities of the tines are upwardly inclined as indicated at 16. The latter inclina-j tion is for the purpose f minimizing the tendency of the tines 12 to dig into theI ground during cer-l The lower sides of the tain later described motions of the material mov-v y ing mechanism.

The cradle 10 is further provided with a crosspece 18 which latter is disposed beneath and at a right-angle to the tines 12. The cross-piece 18 is preferably disposed rearwardly of the center of the tines 12 and is secured thereto by means of suitable bolts 80. y

At the rearward end of the tines 12, a crossbrace |32A is provided and the latter is preferably formed of a four-by-four disposed above the rearward ends of the tines 12 and secured thereto byV means of suitable bolts 84. The four-by-four 82 is in turn. secured to a forward bracing member 86, not shownby means of a pair of U-bolts 88. The forward bracing member 66, not shown in the drawings, is disposed between and attached to the booms I4 at a point spaced from but adjacent the upper end of the boom I4.

The U-bolts 68 are disposed around the forward bracing member 86 and the opposite sides thereof extendv upwardly on opposite sides of the cross-brace 82. There the said ends are secured to the cross-brace 82 by means of suitable nuts 90 and an attachment plate 92. As thus described, the cradle 10 is rigidly secured to the booms I4.

At the forward extremities of the booms I4, each of the latter are secured'to one of a pair of skids 96 having curved' forward surfaces for slideable engagement with the ground. The skids 95 are provided with an upper end section disposed in parallelism with the tines 12 and the end sections are each secured to the cross-piece 18 by means of suitable bolts 68.

The rearward ends of the skids 96 are disposed in approximate parallelism with the tines 12 and are attached to the forward ends of their respective booms I4 by means of attachment plates |00 and bolts |02. The attachment plates |00`also serve to connect the booms I4 to opposite ends of the cross-piece 18 so that the cradle 10 is rigidly secured to the booms I4. v

A pair of pivot posts H0 are mounted at opposite sides of the rearward end of the cradle 10, being secured to the upper side of the cross-brace 82. The posts ||0 are preferably disposed at a right-angle with respect to the lcross-bar 82 as well as at a right-angle with respect to the tines 12.

The pivot posts |I0 are respectively disposed through sleeve portions |26 of a pair of arms |22 and |24. The said arms are each disposed in planes in parallelism with the tines 12 and are secured to the sleeves |20 by means of leg pieces |26. The latter are welded or otherwise secured to both the arms |22 and |24 and the sleeves |20 and are each disposed at a right angle with respect to the said arms and sleeves.

Each of the arms |22 and |24 is provided with a reinforcing strut |30, which latter are each secured to their respective arm at the forward end of the latter; and at the lrearward ends of the arms, the reinforcing struts |30 are welded or otherwise suitably secured to the legs |26 at points spaced apart from the rearward ends of the arms |22 andv |24.

Additional strength may be added to the arms |22 and |24 by providing spaced apart spacers |32 disposed transversely between and attached to the arms |22 and |24 and their respective reinforcing struts |30.

Between the upper ends of the pivot posts I'I0 a cross-post or bracing member |40 is provided and the latter i's rigidly secured to the upper ends of the.` posts II.

A pair of levers |42 are attached to the sleeves |20 onthosesides of the latter, substantially opposite the sides of the sleeves |20 to which the legs |256 are secured; and a pair of tension springs' |44 are each attached to the forward end of the respective one of the lever |42 at one of the ends of each spring and are anchored at their other or normally rearward ends to the cross-bar 02., the said anchoring being at points inwardly dis'- posed from their respective posts ||0.

The forward ends of the arms |22 and |24 are best shown in Figure 2, and are each secured t0 one of two spreaders |50, the latter having'ngers |52 attached to its ends.

The spreader |50 is disposed in parallelism with the posts IIl. and at a right angle with respect to the tines 12, and with respect to the arms |22 and |24. The spreader |50- may be welded or otherwise suitably secured to the forward ends of the arms |22 and |24 at points between the nngers |52.

The larms |22 and |24 are attached to their respective sleeves |20 in such positions that the arm |22 will be disposed above the arm `|24 throughout all swing-ing movements of 'the arms aboutv their respective posts I I0. For this reason the arm |22 will join its spreader |50 at a point normally disposed above the point of joinder between ,the arm |24 and its spreader |50.

As best shown in Figure 2, the fingers |52 are disposedv in parallelism with `the arms |22 and |24 and with the tines 12. The fingers |52 extend downwardly beyond their respective spreaders |50 and rollers |54V are mounted, one each, on pins |56. The pins |56, are attached to the forward ends of' each of the fingers |52, respectively, on the oppositely disposed faces of the latter. The pins |56 extend toward each other at a rightangle to the fingers |52 so that the rollers |54, rotatably mounted on the pins |56, rotate in planes in parallelism with the ingers |52 and with the arms |24.

The purpose of the rollers |54 is to engage in one of two U-shaped channels |60. The latter are disposed in parallelism, their openv sides turnedv away from each other upward and downward respectively. The channels |60 are attached by means of suitable spaced apart angleirons |62, bolts |64 and nuts |66 to the rearward side of a cradle-back, the latter being composed of interconnected, spaced apart, upstanding members |10 and spaced apart, horizontal members |12. The members |1U'and |12 are disposed, respectively, at a rightangle with and parallel to the tines 12.

The channel members |60 are elongated and extend horizontally across the back side of' the upstanding members 10. The horizontal cradleback members |12 ,preferably extend completely across the tines 12 in a transverse direction.

The' lowermost of the horizontal cradle-back members |12 is preferably disposed against the tines 12 and is adapted to slide thereacross. An elongated apron |90 is provided and is disposed extending in a horizontal direction forwardly of and inclinedly disposed with respect to the lowermost horizontal member |12. The apron 90 is vpivotally attached to the lowermost member |12 by means of a hinge |92 in such a manner that the lower edge of the apron |90 will always be disposed forwardly of the lowermost member |12. At times when the cradle-back is disposed atits forwardmost point, as determined by the length of the arms |22 and |24, the lowermost cross-member |12 will stop at the rearward side of the inclined portion 14 and the forward edge of the apron |90 will dip downwardly, during :forward motions of the cradle-back across the portion 14, so that the apron |90 will follow the inclination 14 for cleaning hay or straw therefrom.

'I'he cradle-back is prevented from moving excessively forward or rearward by four stops |9| secured to the channels |60 at either end of the paths of the rollers |54.

In order to maintain the straw or hay in position upon the cradle 10, two side-tines 200 are provided on opposite sides of thev cradle. The side-tines are welded or otherwise suitably secured to pipe sections 202 and one of two bracing bars 203 are welded to the tines 200 and `to the pipe sections 202. The pipe sections 202 are themselves disposed about and rigidly secured to pipe sections 202 and one of two side tines 200 extend forwardly from the posts 0 on opposite sides of the cradle |10 and in parallelism with the bed tines 12.

Means are provided for moving the cradleback forward by swinging the arms |22 and |24. Such means include a hydraulic jack having a cylinder 220, best seen in Figure 4. A jack-piston 222 lis slideably disposed in one end of the jack cylinder `220. The cylinder 220 is anchored to the four-by-four 82 at its other end.

In operation, the new device may be used for scooping hay from the ground or small stacks and for this purpose the load lifting portion I2 thereof is disposed in the dotted line position shown in Figure 1. When in such position, the cradle 10 is supported upon the skids 96 which are in turn disposed in slidable engagement with the surface of the ground 2 0.

In this position the forward ends of the tines 12 lwill scoop straw upon the cradle. Since the cradle-back is disposed as close to the post 0 as is possible during loading, and farther to the rearward than shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, a considerable quantity of straw may be loaded upon the cradle.

When the cradle is loaded the latter may be elevated by adjusting the handle 66 on the pump 60 and the handle 266 of the backward and forward control valve, not shown, so that oil will be caused to ow from the pump 50 through the valve 6|), and through the hose lines 50 and 52 to the jack cylinder 34. The jack pistons will then be caused to raise the booms 4 and the cradle 10.

The hay or straw may then be transported to a point for dumping by operation of the tractor may so regulate the valve 66 and the handle 266 of the backward and forward flow valve, not shown, that the oil under pressure is caused to flow from the pump 50, through the valve 60, and through the conduit-l 32 to the push-olf jack When this point is reached, the operator the lower ends of the sleeves |20.

cylinder 220 causing the piston 222 to slide outwardly thereof. l

A pair of lever arms 230 are provided, as bestl |26 and rotate with the latter and with the arms,

22 and |24. The lever arms 230 extend outwardly from the sleeves |20 in the same radial position as the leg pieces |26; in other words,- the lever arms 230 are preferably disposed i parallelism with the leg pieces |26.

A cable 235 is secured at one of its ends tol one of the arms 230. From there the cable 234 extends to and is reeved over a pulley 236, which latter is mounted, by means of a suitable bracket 238, on the four-by-four 82. The pulley 236 is disposed rearwardly of the four-by-four crosspiece 82 and is positioned on the opposite sidev of the cradle 10 from that lever arm 230 to which the cable 234 is attached. rThe pulley 236 is also disposed on the opposite side of the cradle 10 from the piston rod end of the jack cylinder 220.

From the pully 236, the cable 234 extends to and is'reeved over a second pully v240. The latter is secured on the end of the push-olf jack piston 222. The second pully 240, the cable 234 extends in a direction substantially in parallelism with that portion of the cable 234 which is between the pullys 236 and 240. In other words, from the pully 240 the cable 234 extends in substantial parallelism with the cross-brace 82 and its end is anchored to the cross-brace 82, adjacent the jack cylinder 220, by means of a suitable U-bolt 242 anda cable clamp 244.

A second cable. 245 is secured at one end to the rearward end of the other lever arm 230 and the other end of the second cable 245 extends` forwardly onto the opposite side of the cradle'10 and is attached by means of a cable clamp 246 to aportion of the cable 234 which is disposed between the pu1lys236 and 24U. The particular point of connection between the cables 234 and 245 is disposed so that at times when the pully 240 is urged outwardly by the jack piston 222, the cables 234 and 245 will exert equal forces upon the lever arms 230 and upon the arms |22 and |24, for moving, simultaneously, both sides of the cradle-back forwardly. l.

Power for the jack cylinder 220 is supplied through a suitable conduit 250 and the latter extends to the outlet port fitting 64 of the multiple portcontrol valve 60.

The flow of oil into and out of the push-off jack cylinder 220, and into orout of the boom raising jack cylinder 34, is controlled by means of a backward or forward flow-valve, not shown. the latter forming a part of the tractor |0. Such valve controls the pumping action of the pump so that the latter either permits oil to return to a reservoir, not shown, from the valve or exerts an oil pressure and flow into the valve 60.

The backward and forward flow valve which. is not shown is controlled by means of a. lever 262, pivotally attached to the tractor |0 by means 236, pulling on the lever arm 230. This in turn 7 rotates the sleeve |20 for swinging the arm |22 forwardly. Simultaneously, the lever-arm 230l is caused to rotate the other sleeve |20 and arm |24, since the arm is attached to the cable 245 and tothe cable 234 by the clamp 246.

As thearms |22 and |24 move forwardly at their forward ends, the rollers |54 slide in the channel-irons 60 urging the cradle-back forward. This, in turn forces hay off the forward end of the tines 12. At the end of the forward motion of the cradle-back, the apron |90 pushes the last remaining portions of the load of hay or straw ofi the tines l2.

l If desired; in lieu of dumping the load, all in onefplace, the cradle-back may be moved only partially forwardly while the tractor is disposed in one position for dumping one portion of the load. The tractor may then be moved to another position and the cradle-back moved farther forwardly for dumping another portion.

In this manner, hay and straw stacks may be built efciently and without the loss of time which would be required if' it were necessary to elevate smaller loads for each individual dumping.

Following dumping, the handle 266 is manipulatedv for permitting oil to ow back to the oil i reservoir of the tractor I from the jack cylinder 220. The arms |22 and |24 will then be swung to the rear Aof the cradle under the urge of the tension springs |44 on the levers |42. The booms I4 are then lowered to the ground, and into the positions shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, by so manipulating the handle 66 of the valve 60 so that oil flows from the boomjack cylinders 34 back into the oil reservoir of the tractor I0. The booms I4 will then lower by gravity, until the skids 96 are in engagement with the ground.

This invention has provided a material handling mechanism capable of dumping partial amounts of a large load at selected points for accurately and efficiently building hay stacks or straw stacks and the like.

From the foregoing description, it is thought to be obvious that a push-off hay stacker constructed in accordance with my invention is particularly well adapted for use by reason of the convenience and facility with which it may be assembled and operated, and it will also be obvious that my invention is susceptible of some change and modification without departing from the principles and spirit thereof and for this reason, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise arrangement and formation ofthe several parts herein shown in carrying out myV invention in practice, except as claimed.

I claim:

1. A hay stacker for attachment to a motor vehicle having a controllable source of freely flowing material under pressure, comprising a cradle bed extending forwardly of said vehicle; contrullablev lifting means interconnecting said cradle bed and said vehicle for raising and lowering' said bed at desired times; a cradle back supported by said bed and extending from side to side of and upwardly from the latter during ruse, said Aback being slidableforwardly and rearwardly of said bed; two elongated criss-crossed pushing arms pivotally secured to said bed at points to the rearward end of said bed at one end of each arm, said points being spaced apart sideways of said'v bed, the other end of each arm being disposed' slideablyattached to the rearward side ofy said back; resilient means for swinging. the forward ends of said arms rearwardly; and a jack having a cylinder in communication with said source, one end of said jack being anchored to said bed, the other end of said jack being so connected to said arms as to swing the forward ends of said arms forwardly at desired times for moving said back forwardly of said bed.

2. A hay stacker as described in claim l in which said cradle is provided with like pointed, forwardly extending tines, said tines having downwardly inclined upper edges near the forward extremities thereof; and in which an apron.

extends forwardly of said cradle-back and transversely of said tines, said apron being pivotally secured to said cradle-back in a manner whereby said apron is adapted to follow the said inclined edges of said tines for pushing hay there- I said bed at desired times; a cradle-back supported by said cradle-bed and extending transversely of and upwardly from the latter during use, said cradle-back being slidable forwardly and rearwardly of said cradle-bed; means responsive to the flow of said material and correlated with said cradle-back for moving the latter forwardly on said cradle bed at desired times; other means for causing said cradle-back to move rearwardly of said cradle-bed at other desired times, 'said cradle having like pointed forwardly extending tines said tines having downwardly inclined upper edges near the forward extremitiesy thereof; and an apron extending forwardly of said cradleback and transversely of said tines, said apron being pivotally secured to said cradle-back in a manner whereby said apron is adapted to follow the said inclined upper edges of said tines for pushing hay therefrom during forward motion of said cradle-back.

4. In a hay stacker for attachment to a prime mover having a controllable source of power, a frame, a cradle bed secured to said frame and ex'- tending forwardly of said vehicle; a cradle-back slidably disposed on said bed; two spaced apart posts secured to said frame rearwardly of saidl back; two criss-crossed arms each rotatably secured to a different one of said posts at one end of each arm, the forward ends of said arms slidably engaging the rearward side of said back;` two legs each secured to a different one of said arms at an angle with respect to the attached arm;r and means movably securing said legs to said power sourcev for causing pivotal movements thereof.

STEPHEN S. POKORNY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the i'lle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Selak Sept. 7, 1948.

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