US3049817A - Roadway machine - Google Patents

Description

g- 1962 D. M DONALD 3,049,817

ROADWAY MACHINE Filed April 4, 1960 6 Sheets$heet 1 INVENTOR: RAYMORE D. MACDONALD g- 1962 R. D. M DONALD 3,049,817

ROADWAY MACHINE Filed p l 4, 1960 e Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

35 336 FIG. 4

I I n E4- /38 37 a 7 I 34 mmvrox; RAYMORE D. MACDONALD ATT'Y g- 1962 R. D. M CDONALD 3,049,817

ROADWAY MACHINE Filed April 4, 1960 FIGS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR: RAYMORE D. MACDONALD ATT'Y 1962 R. D. M DONALD 3,049,817

ROADWAY MACHINE Filed April 4, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG? INVENTOR: I RAYMORE D. MACDONALD g- 1962 R. D. M DONALD 3,049,817

ROADWAY MACHINE Filed April 4, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR: YMORE D. MACDONALD 6 R. D. M CDONALD 3,049,817

ROADWAY MACHINE Filed April 4, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 FIG.|I

INVENTOR:

RAYMORE D. MACDONALD ATT'Y United States Patent 3,049,817 ROADWAY MAC Raymore D. MacDonald, Eureka, 111., assignor to Ulmac Equipment Company, El Paso, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 19,809 16 Claims. (Cl. 37-108) This invention relates generally to apparatus for preparing and cleaning road beds, shoulders and ditches in the building and maintenance of roadways and more specifically to a train of tools for single operation including belt conveyor apparatus which can be operated as a push type windrow loader or hitched to motor graders for operation therewith.

In the process of building roads and widening, grading or repairing roads, it is necessary to prepare a smooth surface either for the movement of vehicles over it or for receiving a hard top thereon. Heretofore, it has been necessary to utilize a large variety of specialized equipment to accomplish this preliminary task. Separate power driven diggers, graders, scrapers and windrow loaders were alternately used until a suitable surface was prepared. Not only does this involve a large expense for each of the specialized pieces of equipment, but it also entails an increase of manpower, maintenance, operating costs, and also the most important factor of all, construction time.

It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide an improved and useful belt loader and digging apparatus for separate and dual use with motor graders to simultaneously and continuously perform all of the transitory operations required to build and maintain a roadway.

It is the specific object of this invention to provide an improved belt loader and motor grader apparatus combination capable of ditching, grading and loading all in one continuous operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a single pass ditcher, shoulder grader and loader combination which are disposed in line within the width of one traffic lane both in operation and in transport.

The invention is also characterized by a windrow loader gathering construction which is easily adjusted for floating working conditions to different depths of operation, yet automatically lifts from the road when the loader is raised out of contact with the road.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved loading apparatus which may be towed rearwardly of a motor grader to continuously load excess material with or without assistance of the graders scraper blade.

Another object of this invention is to provide a digger loader controllable to the depth of a road bed surface to be prepared.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved belt loader apparatus which is completely adjustable to operate with motor graders of all sizes and also to be towed or pushed in operation by other sources of power when desired.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved belt loader which has a full floating action with a spring loaded down pressure, adjustable as to depth, and a feeder with staggered self cleaning spades for digging and feeding for uniform load conditions with minimum power requirements.

3,049,817 Patented Aug. 21, 1962 Another object of this invention is to provide an intproved method for repairing a road bed surface for surfac ing in one continuous operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide an proved construction for prow'ding a clean ditch and shoulder in one operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide a combination digger and loader which is simple and rugged in construction and operation, has no driving elements exposed to or in contact with material being handled, and in which the wear parts handling the material are readily replaceable with the loader easily transported to and serviced at the construction site.

With the foregoing and other objects in mind, the invention resides in the following specifications and appended claims, certain embodiments of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the apparatus embodying the invention showing the in-line operation and operative positions of the components employed, further illustration of which is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged side elevation view of a portion of the loader apparatus showing the collector blade construction and the position of the elements during transportation;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the construction shown in FIG. 2 showing the spade arrangement upon the feeder reel;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view showing the gathering wing supports and adjustments illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view with the hood or cover over the feeder reel removed, showing the relationship of the digger blades and the manner of support;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary partially sectioned side elevation view of the construction shown in FIG. 5 with the relationship of the raising and lowering jack device illustrated;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of the lower end of the reel, cutter and loading mechanism;

FIG. 8 is a section view taken upon the lines 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the motor grader illustrating the ditching elements mounted thereon for feeding the loader;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary View in side elevation of the motor grader illustrating the ditchers;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation showing the loader pushed and spaced from the loading truck; and

FIG. 12 shows the swing type hitch employed.

Referring to the drawings, an improved grader, only partially shown, is indicated by the number 1. Adapted to be towed behind the motor grader 1 is a belt loader indicated generally by the number 2 substituted in the preferred form embodying the invention. The belt loader' comprises a substantially rectangular main frame 3 supported at one end on road wheels 4 and with a weight supporting hitch 5 at its forward end. A feeder reel construction indicated generally at 6 is mounted within the front end of the frame and gathering wings 7 are mounted below and extend laterally beyond the sides of the frame. From a point below the feeder reel construction a conveyor belt arrangement 8 extends upwardly and rearwardly over the top of the cab of a loading truck 9 trailing the loader.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and S, the main frame has two parallel horizontally positioned frame members 311 and 3b which may be formed of heavy steel plate and are illustrated in the drawings -as hollow rectangular steel channels. The frame members 3a and 3b are held in spaced relationship at the forward end of the belt loader by a cylindrical steel cross member 30.

The cross member 30 support the leader at the front thereof and is secured at each end to the frame members 3a and 3b preferably by welding. The cross member 3c not only supplies the necessary rigidity and support to the forward portion of the belt loader but also provides an arrangement for a swing type tow hitch 5 which perconnection of the belt loader 2 to the motor grader 1 to one side or the other of the center line thereof.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 5 and 6,. the swing type hitch S has a bracket 9a welded or clamped to the member 30 in locked position and this bracket has a hole through it to receive a vertical pin 10 that is fastened to an upright plate 11 secured to a main tow strut 12 pivotally carried by the motor grader 1 at the center line thereof. A lateral brace 13 which is mountable on one side of the strut 12, or the other, as at 13a engages in spaced eyes 12a and 12b on the two struts to either hold the loader in line behind the motor grader or to one side as shown in FIG. 12 where it catches the windrow of material left by the scraper blade on the motor grader El. The swing type hitch 5, being of a suitable hardened steel, provides two distinct features. First, it permits the transportation of the, motor grader and the belt loader with both units in line, thu allowing movement on a twolane highway and also, when required, allow continuous loading with all units in line. Secondly, it enables the units to be placed in an off-set position, permitting the belt loader and the receiving vehicles to operate on the road bed while the motor grader is operating on or in a ditch area, It is easily seen the advantage of the offset position; the ditcher excavating or loosening the material-and the motor grader strike-off or a croper blade rolling it outwardly to a windrow directly in the path of the loader which loads it through the loader belt to the receiving vehicle 9.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 5 and 6, a rotary feeder section 6 is rigidly mounted between the frame members 3t; and 3b directly behind the cylindrical cross member 30. The feeder section 6 provides an enclosed hood member 14 suitably attached to the apparatus for ready removal from a position protecting all driving elements from material handled by the loader. Hood member 14 may be of suitable corrosion resistant sheet steel material.

Centrally mounted within the hood member 14 is a rotary spade reel 15. The reel 15 provides a plurality of spider members 16 extending outwardly at equal intervals about the periphery of a rotatable shaft 17. Each of the spider members 16, being of a suitable steel material, are provided with a contoured spade support 18 secured thereto as by welding, to receive bolted thereto spade members or blades 18a that provide a positive digging and feeding action with a minimum amount of power. The spade supports 18 are angularly attached to the spider members 16 and are proportionally shaped and contoured to provide a maximum loading with a minimum amount of carry-over on the return of the spade members. The angular relationship to the spider members and the bevelled contour of the spade members as shown, allows a complete distribution of the torque load throughout 360 of rotation as the spade members dig successively into the material to be fed to the conveyor belt.

It will be observed in connectionwith FIG. 7 that as each spade blade 18a moves from the position at A to the position at B. with the blade canted fonwardly at approximately 145 to the radius, the blade slices downwardly and rearwardly into the windrow at B and lifts it with a driving action onto the lower end of the belt 23 and passes into a horizontal position as it moves upwardly towards its position C, thereafter moving outwardly from under the material which might cling to it and going into a substantially vertical position at C where the clinging material falls free into the path of the next blade to follow as the material is being kicked onto the belt. Due to the angle of attack on the blade it tends to slice or wipe through the material so that material successively engaged by the blades tends to force the material that may cling thereto 'backwardly off of the blade to keep the blade quite clean against any impacting of the material.

The rotary shaft 17 is supported at the free, ends of side arms 17a which are pivotally mounted at their other ends on a shaft 21. The hood 14 is marginally mounted within the side arms 17a and the bearings for the shaft are outside of the hood Where they are shielded from material. One end of the shaft 17 extends through and beyond the bearing to receive a driven sprocket 19. The sprocket 19 is fixedly attached to the rotary shaft 17 by any suitable means such as a. key member. The placing of the bearings, sprocket 19 and the driving elements, to be described later, outside of the hood member 14 allows the Working drive units to be free of all abrasive materials that are being removed from the road bed. This allows a virtually maintenance free mechanism and assures continuous operation of the apparatus.

The sprocket 19 is actuated by a roller chain 20 which is in turn rotated by a drive sprocket 19' carried by the shaft 21. The sprocket 19', is keyed .to a shaft 21 which is rotated through the right angle gear box 22 and the gear box 22 is powered in turn through a conventional drive shaft which is coupled with a safety release clutch (not shown in the drawings) from a drive motor and gear box which will be explained later.

The arms 17a are spring loaded to rest against bumpers by shackles 17d interconnecting the free ends of the arms 17a and the free ends of leaf springs 17:: that are clamped at their other ends to the side frames 3a and 3b. Thus, when the spades engage an immovable obstruction, they climb over it and in doing so raise the reel without disturbing the drive, the hitch or the level of the side frames 3a and 3b, yet if there is any opportunity to dig under the obstruction such will follow with the attack angle of the blades provided as described.

A conveyor section 8 is adjus-tably mounted in contiguous relationship with the feeder section 6. A conveyor belt 23 is driven through a suitable manually operated clutch control. This clutch control unit, not shown in the drawings, may include any one of a number of clutch units well known in the prior art and does not constitute a part of this invention. The clutch control unit connects a drive motor with a gear box to be explained later.

As best seen in FIG. 11, the drive shafts for both the feeder section 6 and the conveyor section 8 are driven simultaneously from a conventional dual outlet drive gear box 49 which is actuated by the drive motor 48 through the clutch control unit mentioned above.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the conveyor section 8, has a pick-up blade 26 secured to its lower end adjacent to the ground. The pick-up blade 26 is made from a suitable abrasive resistant, high tensile steel, and has a replaceable bevelled tip member 27 at the edge adjacent to the surface being prepared and an upwardly bent wing 28 at the other end overlapping the end of the conveyor belt 23 to direct the rearwardly driven material -to be deposited upon the conveyor belt. The bevelled tip 27 not only permits the loose material to be pushed up to the conveyor belt 23, but also serves as a strike-off blade to assure. a smooth finished surface as the belt loader apparatus moves forward.

The conveyor section 8 is pivotally connected to an upright frame member 24, which is rigidly secured to the frame member 3 to raise and lower the rear end of the conveyor section. It is to be understood that both sides of the conveyor have duplicate structure members and only one side is being explained at this time. A quadrant member 25 is pivoted to the conveyor section 8 (FIG. 1) at 25a and also to the upright 24 at 25b. The quadrant has a plurality of position openings 25c cooperating selectively with hole 25d in the upright to permit positioning of the conveyor section 8 into a plurality of difierently elevated positions. This permits different capacity receiving vehicles to be used beneath the belt loader apparatus.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the conveyor pick-up blade 26 is also adjustably positioned relative to the ground surface by means of a screw jack 29.

The screw jack 29, operated by a handle 30, is pivotally mounted at one end between two equally spaced quadrant plates 31 and 32. The quadrant plates 31 and 32, having a plurality of positioning holes 31a, are pivotally mounted at their apex 32a to the frame member 3a. The other end of the screw jack 29 is pivotally mounted to the actuating arm 33 which is in turn pivotally mounted to the frame member 3a at 33a. The lower end of the actuating arm 33 connects to a hanger roller 34 which rides in supporting relationship on the lower edge of the main channel beam 33b of the conveyor section 8. It is obvious that upon expanding the screw jack 29, and with the quadrant plates 31 and 32 locked in position on the frame member 3a, the actuating arm 33 will pivot on the frame member 3a as shown in FIG. 2 and the lower end of the actuating arm 33 will force the roller 34 downwardly along the conveyor structure in a shortening arc. This causes the channel beam 33b to move upwardly and therewith the pick-up blade 26 is lifted with respect to the frame 3 about the pivot 25a. Conversely, collapsing the screw jack 29 will lower the pick-up blade 26 relative to the ground.

Gathering wings 35 extend in an outwardly diverging direction from the pick-up blade 26. Again it is to be understood that both sides of the belt loader apparatus have similar structural features and one side will be described. The wings are adjustably secured to the apparatus by means of a combination of floating linkages and provides a full contact with the ground.

The gathering wings 35 are supported for full floating action at the front ends of the main channel beams 33b where a fixed shaft 36 is secured to and extends laterally from the main channel beams on both sides of the loader and braced by an adjustable strut 36a. Referring particularly to FIGS. 3 and 4, a concentric sleeve 37 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 36. Secured at the forward side of the sleeve 37, as by welding, is a linkage 38 which supports at its forward end another sleeve member 39. The support is accomplished by a height adjustment bolt 40 threaded through the linkage 38 to rest in a downward direction upon a bracket or stop 41 welded to the main channel beam 33!). The sleeve member 39 receives a shaft 39a therethrough which is welded or 41 on the main channel beam 33b is raised as when the .roller 34 is moved forwardly the shaft 39a and the wing blade attached thereto are raised from the ground.

'Likewise, once the position of the main channel beam 33b is set for operation, the bolt 40 can be adjusted to permit the Wing blade to rest on the ground. Thus, the rear end of the wing blade 35 is disposed in working position.

The front end of the wing blade 35 is also adjustably supported. A linkage arm 42 pivoted on the shaft 3% is also supported thereby in connection with the sleeve 39 as at point 43. The forward end of the arm 42 is secured to the outermost portion of the wing blade 35 as at bracket 420 just behind the ground skid shoe 46 which is also adjustable vertically. The other end of the arm 42 extends rearwardly terminating beneath a threaded adjustment stop 44, carried on an arm 45 welded to the sleeve 37. As is seen from FIGS. 2., 3, 4 and 8, movement of the threaded adjustment 44 will raise or lower the forward or outermost portion of the gathering wing 35. This combination of adjustments and linkages provide a complete floating action for the gathering wing members, a positive depth control, and a lift means for them when the main channel beams are raised at the front end.

Secured to the leading end of the gathering wing blade 35 is the depth control or skid shoe 46 already mentioned. This shoe provides a level guide means when operating along an existing road surface. Adjacent to the shoe 46, the gathering wing blade 35 has a reinforcing rib member 47 secured on the rearward section thereof. The rib member 47 terminates towards the lower blade edge and has the linkage arm 42 secured thereto.

If desired, dolly wheels may be pivotally mounted to each of the frame members 3a and 3b to provide suitable support for the belt loader at the forward end when it is disconnected from the motor grader. Such could be raised and lowered hydraulically or otherwise as desired. However, it has been found that a lift jack member 50, as best seen in FIG. 7, pivotally mounted to the frame member 3a and 311 has been satisfactory for this purpose because, it can also be utilized for elevating the forward portion of the belt loader a substantial distance to allow easy access to its parts for maintenance and repair.

Referring now more specifically to FIG. 11 illustrating a further embodiment of the machine of this invention, the frame members 3a and 31) extend to the rear portion of the belt loader and provide a mounting for a rear axle upon which road wheels 4 are rotatably mounted, with similar wheels 51 mounted on the forward portion of the frame members. The axle wheel members may be constructed in any suitable manner and are not a part of the invention.

The drive motor 48 and gear box 49 are rigidly secured between the frame members 3a and 3b just ahead of rear set of road wheels. The drive motor 48 and gear box 49 are compact in size and supported low to provide clearance for the upper portion of the conveyor section 8. The drive motor 48, which may be any suitable variable speed motor such as a gasoline engine, drives the gear box 49 and through it to separate output drives whose relative speeds are determined to move the belt and reel at predetermined proportioned rates of speed. One drive shaft 52 extends to the feeder reel 6 and the other drive output going to the conveyor section 8. The torque tubes of these drives telescope to allow for the conveyor adjustments described.

A rigid bumper member 54, mounted across the rear of the belt loader apparatus, is secured to the frame members 3a and 3b to provide a suitable mating contact for a forward bumper of the receiving vehicles in event it is desirable to push the conveyor instead of pulling it, it being appreciated that the loader for this operation preferably has the four wheels. Otherwise, the loader can be provided with only two wheels 51 if it is to be towed each time it is used.

Suitably secured to the frame member 311 just ahead of the left rear wheel 4 is an operators platform 55, as best seen in FIG. 1, positioned to provide placement of the operator and control in an advantageous position where the speed of the conveyor belt, the filling of the truck, and the operation of the feeder reel can visually be observed.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10 of the drawings, a disc attachment indicated generally by the numeral 56 is attached to the motor grader blade draw bar 57 that is carried by the main frame 57a. The ditching accomplished by the attachment 56, which will be explained later, is the first of the several steps required for completion of the preliminary task of preparing the road bed surfaces which include providing a clean ditch, a good grade to the ditch, a firm and smooth shoulder and a clean shoulder and road bed.

The disc attachment 56 is secured to the motor grader blade draw bar 57 by a clamp member 58. Pivotally secured to the clamp member 58 is a support arm 59. The support arm 59, terminating at its free end, supports a disc bracket 60 which in turn supports the disc 61 in angular relationship to the ground surface to be raised and lowered by the grader controls.

The disc 61 may be re-positioned at any time by the motor grader operator by actuation of the operating shaft 62 from his driving position. The shaft 62 terminates in a worm drive control unit 63 which is suitably secured to the motor grader frame structure 5742. Pivoting linkage members 64 and 65 connect the control unit 63 with the support arm 59. It is easily seen from FIGS. 9 and that vertical change of the disc 61 is made by the movement of the operating shaft 62.

By providing a vehicle train including the motor grader ditcher construction and grader blade and the belt loader apparatus with the spring loaded feeder reel between gathering wings leading to the conveyor belt, and the receiving vehicles in functional relationship as explained above, a continuous method of preparing a road bed surface is provided. It will be appreciated that one of the gathering wings could be provided with a ditcher construction as described to accomplish the same result with suitable adjustments provided for that purpose. The ditching, grading and positioning of excavated material is accomplished by the ditcher and scraper blade, the gathering, scraping, loading and conveying is accomplished by the gathering wings, reel and conveyor belt, and the receiving vehicles remove the excess material.

Another embodiment of the invention is to remove the gathering wings 35 and utilize the belt loader apparatus 2 as a digger in which case the strike-off blade 27 and reel 6 are lowered to a position below the level of the ground to a depth desired and thereafter as the loader is propelled forwardly, the reel spades progressively dig, loosen the earth and deliver it to the conveyor belt with the strike-off blade smoothing the cut.

In this connection, the preferred shape and positioning of the reel blades 18a as supported ahead of reel arms is shown in the drawings, they may be of any desired shape and width. However, with the blades distributed at 60 angle to each other as shown in FIG. 6, only one sector of the blades is working at a time, but as one sector of blades finish the cut and delivery to the conveyor belt, the next sector begins to work thereby rendering the work load uniform upon the drive mechanism, the reel being rotated fast enough that it digs and pulls the material towards the conveyor at a rapid rate and at an advantageous angle attack as already described, thus essentially digging the material with a slicing action that essentially lifts the material with a sliding action unopposed by any material located in a horizontal direction therefrom.

While the apparatus of this invention is shown and described with particular reference to earth Working operations for preparing road bed surfaces, it is apparent that many of the features shown may be used in a variety of combinations and with various other attachments, and that the structure of many of the details thereof may be considerably modified without departing materially from the features of the invention as claimed.

Furthermore, it will be seen how the stated objects are attained and how the invention provides staggered selfcleaning spades to provide positive digging and feeding action with minimum power requirements. Moreover, loss of power and wear of parts, and maintenance costs are greatly reduced in that the chain drives, sprockets and lubricated moving parts are not exposed to the material being loaded, therefore hold their lubrication and do not require continual lubrication. It is also seen how all) 8 blade life is enhanced by the full floating spring loaded action of the reel, yet if blade damage does occur same can be readily replaced. The gather wings also are full floating and automatically raised for transportation with an adjustable shoe for depth control with loose mate-rial or as a stop for road surface work. Also, by way of explanation of in-line operation within a trailic lane on the road, the loader is less than eight feet wide, is within twelve feet of its operating height and less than ten feet at its transport height, and has an overall length of less than thirty feet. Under exceptional conditions experienced sometimes with large loading trucks its maximum loading height over a truck cab can be brought to approximately fourteen feet if desired.

Furthermore, the ability to throttle the engine enables loading speed to be adjusted to the speed of the grader and the character of the material being loaded, the swath handled by the reel being approximately three feet with the belt width also approximately three feet, same being operated by way of example but not by way of limitation by a fifty-six horse power engine with the belt at 487 feet per minute movement at 1900 rpm. engine speed. The peripheral speed of the reel is preferably approximately 420 feet per minute while the forward speed of the loader is from 88 to 250 feet per minute depending upon material and work load.

Thus, it will be appreciated how the combination disclosed not only may be used for all types of loading including heavy windrows of snow and ice, but ditching, grading and clean up loading may be done in one operation as well as the loader being utilized for scarifying of top soil, and other conditions. The swing hitch described permits off-set operation for ditching and other off road operations.

It will also be observed that the jack on the loader when brought into operation provides quick coupling and uncoupling with a two machine such as a motor grader. Also, the screw jack employed provides a positive lock on the depth of cut of the loader strike-01f blade whether it be used for clean-up or stripping.

Also because the motor speed can be throttled, and without slowing up the forward speed of the loader, the loader operator can trim truck loads by running the belt fast or slow under conditions requiring it to fully load a truck for safe haulage of the material loaded without having peaked excess at any point which would fall off of the truck during transportation.

Having thus described preferred embodiments of the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A wheel belt loader apparatus for attachment to a motor grader for conditioning a surface of a road bed comprising in combination, a pair of parallel horizontal side frame members held in spaced relationship by a reinforcing cross member at the forward ends thereof, a pivotal swing type hitch secured to said cross member centrally between the forward ends of the parallel side frame members, a spade feeder rotatably mounted between the parallel frame members, a pair of gathering wings extending outwardly and forwardly of said feeder, actuating linkages pivotally connected to the side frame members and the gathering wings, adjustment means connected to said actuating linkages for raising or lowering individually or both the front or the rear portion of the gathering wings with respect to the ground surface, a conveyor pivotally connected between the side frame members, said conveyor having one end in contiguous relationship with the feeder and the other end positioned to discharge into a receiving vehicle, a pick-up blade mounted in front of the conveyor, adjustment means connected to the side frame members to control the position of the pick-up blades relative to the ground surface, a motive means, a dual outlet gear means connected to the motive means, and plural shaft means connecting said gear means with the conveyor and the feeder to eifectively 9 level, remove and load the excessive material from the road bed surface.

2. A wheeled belt loader apparatus for attachment to a motor grader for conditioning the surface of a road bed comprising in combination, a pair of side frame members, a feeder reel positioned between the side frame members, said feeder reel having a plurality of spider members symmetrically positioned at equal intervals about the periphery of a rotating shaft, spade members secured to the end of the spider members at an obtuse angle with respect to the radius of the feeder reel, a conveyor mounted between the side frames and having its forward end proximate to said reel, a pair of gathering wings diverging outwardly in a forward direction from said feeder reel, actuating linkages pivotally interconnected the side frame members and the gathering wings, adjustment means on the actuating linkages positioning the forward and rearward portions of the gathering Wings separately in a vertical direction, a prime mover, a plural outlet gear means connected to said prime mover, and shaft means extending from said plural outlets connecting the feeder reel and the conveyor to the gear means to effectively level, remove and load excessive material from the road bed surface during forward motion of the belt loader.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 2 wherein spade members have a bevelled, proportioned blade for engaging the road surface.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein the rotary spade feeder is provided with an enclosed curved housing to prevent carry-over of material.

5. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein the rotary spade feeder is biased in a downward direction by spring means.

6. The combination of a wheeled belt loader and a motor vehicle for conditioning a roadway comprising hitch means between the motor vehicle and the front end of the belt loader for supporting the front end of the belt loader on the motor vehicle, a feeder reel rotatably and pivotally mounted on the belt loader behind said hitch means and having spades spaced around the periphery thereof disposed at an obtuse angle to the radius of the reel, upwardly yieldable spring means for holding said feeder reel down against positioning stops during operation, a pair of gathering wings diverging outwardly and forwardly of said feeder reel, actuating linkages pivotally connected to the belt loader carrying the gathering wings, said actuating linkages including adjustment means connected to said actuating linkages for raising and lowering the front and rear ends of the gathering wings separately with respect to the ground surface, said belt loader including an upwardly inclined conveyor belt having one end in contiguous relationship with the feeder reel and the other end positioned to discharge into a trailing receiving vehicle, a pick-up scraper blade mounted in front of the conveyor belt posterior to the lowest point on the feeder reel, adjustment means for raising and lowering said sctraper blade and reel together with respect to the hitch means, a prime mover, a dual outlet gear means connected to the prime mover, and plural shaft means connecting said gear means with the conveyor belt and the feeder reel to operate them at a continuous proportional peripheral speed above the forward operating speed of the motor vehicle.

7. The invention as set forth in claim 6 wherein the rotary spade feeder is provided with an enclosed curved housing to prevent spillage.

8. The invention as set forth in claim 2 wherein the rotary spade feeder is biased in a downward direction by spring means.

9. The invention as set forth in claim 6 wherein the gathering wings are concave in contour and angularly disposed to provide a strike-off blade to force the loose ground surface material in a rolling action towards the center of the belt loader.

10. The invention as set forth in claim 2 wherein the gathering wings are concave in contour and angularly disposed to provide a strike-off blade to force the loose ground surface material in a rolling action towards the center of the belt loader.

11. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein the adjustment means engages the conveyor for controlling the position of the pick-up blade is a manually operated screw jack secured to the frame members to cause pivotal rotation of the conveyor relative to said frame members.

12. The invention as set forth in claim 6 wherein the adjustment means for controlling the position of the pickup blade is a manually operated self-locking screw jack.

13. The invention as set forth in claim 3 wherein the adjustment means includes a manually operated screw jack and a swing roller engagaing the conveyor for controlling the position of the pick-up blade in a vertical direction.

14. A belt loader apparatus for attachment to a motor grader for conditioning the surface material of a road bed comprising, a supporting frame structure, said supporting frame structure being adapted to be attached at one end to the motor grader and being supported by wheel members at the other end, a rotary spade feeder mounted within the frame structure, said rotary spade feeder being housed in an enclosed curved hood supported by the frame structure, a drive means for said rotary spade feeder positioned outside of the enclosed hood, spring biasing means engaging the rotary feeder to urge it in a downward direction so the spade members will positively dig into the surface material, a conveyor mounted within the frame member structure, said conveyor being pivotally connected with the frame structure, motive means, a dual outlet gear means connected to said motive means, plural shafts extending from said gear means to the drive means and to the conveyor respectively, and support wheels pivotally mounted on the supporting frame structure to effectively support the belt loader apparatus upon disengaging from the motor grader.

15. A belt loader apparatus for attachment to a motor grader for conditioning the surface of a road bed comprising in combination, a pair of supporting frame members, a swinging hitch means for connecting the motor grader with the belt loader, said hitch means being capable of swinging to permit the motor grader to operate in an off-set position from the belt loader, a spade feeder rotatably mounted within the frame members, a continuous belt conveyor pivotally connected within the frame members, said spade feeder digging and feeding the road surface material into the conveyor, a pair of concave gathering wings adjustably connected to the conveyor, a bevelled pick-up blade secured in front of the conveyor, a drive means, a dual outlet gear means, means to connect the gear box with the drive means, a plurality of shafts extending from said dual outlet gear means, one of the shafts being connected to the spade feeder and the other shaft being connected to the conveyor, support wheels pivotally mounted on the side frame members to effectively support the belt loader apparatus upon disengagement from the motor grader, and lifting means pivotally connected forwardly on the side frame members to raise the forward portion of the belt loader apparatus to facilitate maintenance and repairs.

16. A belt loader apparatus for attachment to a motor grader for conditioning the surface material of a road bed comprising, a supporting frame structure, said supporting frame structure being adapted to be attached at one end to the motor grader and being supported by wheel members at the other end, an auxiliary frame mounted for vertical movement at one end, a rotary spade feeder mounted on said one end of the said auxiliary frame within said frame structure, said rotary spade feeder being housed in an enclosed curved hood supported on the auxiliary frame structure, a drive means for said rotary spade feeder positioned outside of the enclosed hood,

spring biasing means engaging said auxiliary frame to urge said rotary feeder in a downward direction so the spade members will positively dig into the surface material, a conveyor mounted Within the supporting frame structure, said conveyor being pivotally connected With the frame structure, a pick-up blade carried by the conveyor in front of said conveyor, motive means, a gear means connected to said motive means, plural shafts driven by said gear means and driving said drive means and the conveyor respectively, and support means mounted on the supporting frame structure to effectively support the said one end of the supporting frame structure upon disengagement from the motor grader.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Stoops Sept, 10, Platto May 24, Friedman Aug. 11, MacDonald Aug. 14, Focher July 5, Kolbe Mar. 18, Brown et a1. Oct. 21,

FOREIGN PATENTS France Ian. 12,

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