US2770057A - Grave digger - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 13, 1956 Filed July 31, 1955 J. 1.. CAMP 2,770,057

GRAVE DIGGER 2 Sheets-Shet l 1 N VEN TOR.

John L. (lamp,

ATTbRNEYs J. L. CAMP GRAVE DIGGER Nov. 13, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 31, 1953 INVENTOR. -J0hr2L.CaI72p,

ATTU RNEYE United States Patent 6 f GRAVE DIGGER John L. Camp, Waverly, N. Y.

Application July 31, 1953, Serial No. 371,444

3 Claims. (Cl. 37-103) This invention relates to earth moving equipment, and more specifically, the invention pertains to excavating apparatus especially designed for the digging of graves.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a land vehicle with apparatus of the type described which will quickly and efficiently excavate the ground from a cemetery plot to provide a grave of suitable proportions.

A further object of this invention is to provide a land vehicle with grave digging equipment adapted for operation by hydraulic means.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide excavating equipment of the kind referred to above which is non-complex in construction and operation, and which is also inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.

Other and further objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the following specification when read in the light of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the grave excavating equipment constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention, and illustrated as being mounted for operation 'on a land vehicle shown in dotted line outline;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the equipment shown in Fig. 1, looking towards'the bucket side thereof;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, substantially medial cross-sectional view, partly in elevation;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the grave excavating equipment taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the crankshaft and its mounting means.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, reference numeral 1 designates, in general, grave excavating equipment constructed in accordance with this invention. The equipment comprises five primary units which include a shovel member A, a rotary scoop B, a hydraulic unit C, for actuating the scoop B, a land vehicle D for supporting the equipment, and a hydraulic unit E connecting the vehicle and the equipment to operably support the latter on the former.

The shovel member A is preferably constructed as an integral unit having a substantially rectangular crosssection and comprises a vertically elongated (as seen in Fig. 1) front plate 2, a back plate 3 spaced therefrom and extending substantially parallel thereto, the front and back plates being integrally connected by the upper end wall 4 and the pair of spaced, substantially parallel side walls 5 and 6. In Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, it is seen that the back plate 3 has a shorter vertical dimension than the front plate 2, and that the side walls 5, 6 depend therebeyond and are each formed with an off-set portion 5, 6' intermediate their respective ends which extends away from the back plate 3. The off-set portions 5', 6 of the side walls support a pair of oppositely disposed apertured brackets 7 (see Fig. 5) of identical construction, the brackets being secured thereon by rivets 8 to their respective sides with the apertures thereof in 2,770,057 Patented Nov. 13, 1956 alignment. A plurality of spaced parallel, ground engaging teeth 9 are secured by rivets 10 to the lower end of the front plate 2.

The scoop B comprises a pair of oppositely disposed, substantially parallel side walls 11 and 12 each having a substantially segmental configuration. A bottom wall 13 extends between the side walls 11, 12, following the curvature of their respective lower ends (see Figs. 3 and 4), and is preferably integrally formed therewith. A second pair of :apertured brackets 7', 7' .are provided, the brackets 7, 7 being identical to the brackets 7, 7 illustrated in Fig. 5, and the brackets 7, 7 are rigidly secured to the inner sides of the side walls 11 and 12, respectively, by rivets 8' with the apertures thereof disposed substantially adjacent the apices of the side walls 11, 12, reference being made to Fig. 3. The apertures of the brackets 7', 7 are aligned with each other and with the apertures of the brackets 7, 7 to receive therethrough the opposite ends of a crankshaft 14. The crankshaft 14 is fixedly secured to each of the brackets 7 7' as by welding at 15 while it is free to rotate within the apertures formed in the brackets 7, 7. With the described construction it is seen that the scoop B is rotatable toward and away from the front plate 2. A plurality of spaced, substantially parallel, ground engaging teeth 16 are secured to the lip of the scoop B adjacent the front plate 2 by rivets 17.

The hydraulic unit C includes a support arm 18 inclined at an angle to the front plate 2 and diverges (see Fig. 1) upwardly and away therefrom for extension beyond the back plate 3. The arm 18 is integral with the upper end Wall 4 and is provided at its lower and with an enlarged apertured boss 19 coaxially aligned with an aperture extending transversely through'the upper wall 4. A casing 20 for a reciprocating hydraulically operated piston (not shown) is fixedly secured to the other end of the arm 18, the piston being connected with a piston rod 21 extending downwardly on a line converging toward the lower end of the front plate 2. A link 22 is pivotally connected at its upper endto the lower end of the piston rod 21 by the link pin 23, and the lower end of the link 22 is rotatably connected with the crankshaft 14- by the split bearing 24. Conduits 25 and 26 connect with the casing 20, at one of their respective ends, on opposite sides of the piston, the other ends thereof being connected through conventional valve means (not shown) with a source of fluid under pressure, the hydraulic system and control means therefor being conventional and well known in the art.

The land vehicle D comprises a tractor of conventional design, though other types of land vehicles could be utilized. As shown in Fig. 1, the hydraulic unit E comprises a vertical casing 27 connected to one end of a bellcrank lever 28 pivotally supported on a cross-shaft 29 which extends transversely of the tractor D and is suitably secured thereto. The other end of the bellcrank lever 30 is pivotally connected at 31 with one end of an elongated lever 32 under the control of the operator.

A piston (not shown) is mounted for reciprocation within the casing 27 and is connected with one end of a vertically extending (as seen in Fig. l), elongated piston rod 32 which terminates at its other end in a projection 33 of reduced diameter. The projection 33 passes through the aperture formed in the boss 19 and upper wall 4 and is provided with an enlarged head 34, whereby the units A, B and C are fixedly secured to the piston re 32 for movement therewith.

A. pair of conduits 35 and 36 have one of their respective ends connected with the casing 27 on opposite sides of the reciprocating piston, and the other ends thereof are connected with a hydraulic system through a conventional valve control.

In operation, the tractor D is driven to the grave site, the piston rod 32 having been moved upwardly from its position shown in Fig. l to raise the units A and B above the ground line. The operator then manipulates the valve control for the hydraulic system which includes the conduits 25 and 26 whereby fluid under pressure is admitted to the casing through the conduit to one side of the reciprocatable piston (not shown) while simultaneously therewith relieving the fluid pressure on the other side of the piston, whereby the fluid on the other side of the piston is exhausted from the casing by movement of the piston. Downward movement of the piston forces the piston rod 21 to move downwardly and through the link 22 the crankshaft 14 is caused to rotate thereby raising the scoop to its position shown in Fig. 1.

The operator then manipulates the valve control for the hydraulic system which includes the conduits and 36 causing the piston rod 32 to descend under the force of the hydraulic fluid which enters the casing 27 through the conduit 36, thereby forcing the teeth 9 and the front plate 2 into ground engagement as shown in Fig. l. Thereafter, the operator manipulates the valve control for the hydraulic system of the conduits 2S and 26, reversing the flow of fluid therethrough. This eflects an upward movement of the piston rod 21 which turns the crankshaft 14 in the opposite direction, rotating the scoop B toward the front plate 2 together with the earth dislodged thereby.

The operator then actuates the valve control for the hydraulic system of conduits 35 and 36 to permit fluid under pressure to enter the casing 27 through the conduit 35 to elevate the piston rod 32, the shovel A and the scoop B.

The tractor is then preferably moved rearwardly and the ground carried by the shovel A and the scoop B is then discharged at a convenient location by turning the scoop to its open position, as described supra, or the operator may actuate the lever 32 to pivot the casing 27 to rotate the shovel and discharge the dirt rearwardly' of the tractor D, the scoop B then being opened to its discharge position.

From the foregoing it should be manifest that the actual excavating operation may also be carried out with the piston rod 32 inclined at an angle other than substantially 90 with respect to the ground line.

Having described and illustrated this invention in detail, it is to be understood that the embodiment herein disclosed and illustrated is offered by way of example, and that the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Grave excavating equipment comprising an elevated support, a hydraulic motor mounted on said support and having a piston rod actuated thereby, a shovel member rigidly secured to said piston rod, said shovel member having an elongated front plate and a foreshortened back plate, an upper end wall and a pair of parallel side plates integral with the front and back plates and retaining said front and back plates in spaced parallel relation to each other, and ground engaging teeth secured to the lower edge of said front wall, a scoop member having a pair of opposed sides, a curved bottom wall integral with the lower edges of the sides and ground engaging teeth secured to the forward edge of said bottom wall for coaction with the ground engaging teeth on said shovel member, a crankshaft having end portions thereof rigidly secured to said sides, means pivotally mounting opposed ends of said crankshaft on said shovel memher, a hydraulic motor rigidly secured to said shovel member and having a piston rod actuated thereby, means connecting said piston rod with said crankshaft whereby actuation of said second hydraulic motor etfects rotation of said scoop member toward and away from said shovel member, and actuation of said first hydraulic motor raises and lowers said shovel member together with the elements associated therewith in vertical relation to ground level so that in excavating position said shovel and scoop members are located below ground level.

2. A grave excavating equipment as in claim 1, wherein a support arm is formed integral with the upper end wall of said shovel member and said second hydraulic motor is formed integral with said support arm where- V by said hydraulic motor is rigidly secured to said shovel member.

3. A grave excavating equipment as in claim 1, wherein the opposed sides of said shovel member are each provided with olfset portions and apertured brackets are mounted on the opposite faces of said ottset portionsto pivotally mount the opposed ends of said crankshaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UMTED STATES PATENTS 210,448 Bridges Dec. 3, 1873 669,446 Morris Mar. 5, 1901 776,125 Dutton Nov. 29, 1904 819,791 Neste May 8, 1906 1,307,009 Joy June 17, 1919 2,200,137 Steinert May 7, 1940 2,332,561 Drott Oct. 26, 1943 2,455,474 Drott et a1. Dec. 7, 1948 2,483,033 Baker Sept. 27, 1949 2,639,826 Welden May 26, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 349,535 Germany Mar. 4, 1922

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