US3300068A - Tail gate attachment - Google Patents

Description

Jan- 24, 1967 F. K. TARRANT, SR

TAIL GATE ATTACHMENT ."5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 24, 1964 INVENTOR.

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Jan- 24, 1967 F. K. TARRANT, SR 3,300,068

TAIL GATE ATTACHMENT Filed Deo. 24, 1964 5 Sheets-$heet 2 47 'I .f INVENTOR 3 /rff K. TP/Wf Si:

A TONE Jan- 24, 1967 F. K. TARRANT, SR

TAIL GATE ATTACHMENT 3 Sheets-$heet 5 Filed Dec. 24, 1964 United States Patent O 3,300,068 TAIL GATE ATTACHMENT Fred K. Tarrant, Sr., 4 Excelsior Spring Ave., Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 12866 Filed Dec. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 421,045 1 Claim. (Cl. 214-83.36)

This invention relates to a tail gate attachment for trucks for emptying the truck of sand, salt or other granular material. More particularly stated the invention relates to apparatus of the character specified so constructed and arranged that it will operate in either direction and will deposit the material on a spreader yor on the side of a shoulder of the road.

The invention has for its salient object to provide a truck or tail gate attachment for emptying the truck of granular material such as sand, salt, cinders and like material and so constructed and arranged that it will operate without tunneling and without jamming due to the presence of gravel, chips or small stones.

Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment of the character described so constructed and arranged that the amount of material deposited can be varied at the will of the operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment of the character described so constructed and so attached to the truck that a dump truck can be dumped in the usual manner without using the attachment.

Further objects of the invention will be clear from the following specification taken in connection with the drawings which form a part of this application and in which:

FIG. l is a perspective view of the rear end of a dump truck having the tail gate attachment mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of the rear end portion of a truck having mounted thereon a tail gate attachment embodying the invention, the tail attachment being shown, looking at one end thereof;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation taken substantially on line 3 3 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional elevation on an enlarged scale taken substantially on line 4-4 of FIG. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

The invention briey described consists of a tail gate attachment having a frame pivoted to the rear end of the truck, the attachment having a hopper or trough extending transversely of the truck and disposed at a lower level than the truck platform. The material deposited `in the hopper or trough may be dumped therein when the attachment is mounted on a dump truck by elevating the truck body. Alternatively, the attachment may be mounted on the rear end of a truck body in which pusher means is provided for feeding the material out of the rear end of the truck into the hopper of the attachment. A transverse conveyor is mounted in the hopper and has feeding bars which feed the material deposited in the hopper transversely in either direction, under the control `of the operator. The feeding bars are elevated above the bottom of the hopper and engage and feed the material transversely. Because of the elevation of the feeding bars above the hopper bottom material such as cinders, small stones or gravel does not become jammed in the hopper and this is an important feature of the invention.

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In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings there is shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 the rear end portion of a truck 10 having a platform 11.

The tru-ck attachment consists of a housing having front and rear walls 15 and 16 for housing the conveyor which consists of conveyor chains 17 and 1S. The conveyor chains 17 and 1S are connected by transverse feeding bars 19, and the lap 20 of the conveyor is positioned above a transverse plate or apron 21 which forms the bottom of the hopper 22. It will be noted that longitudinally extending V bars 23 extend across the hopper and space the upper lap 20 of the conveyor above the bottom.

The chains 17 and 18 are mounted on sprockets 25 and 26 mounted on a shaft 28 and the shaft 28 is driven by a chain 27 which in turn is driven by a shaft driven by the motor M. The motor M is preferably a hydraulic motor and is driven by hydraulic fluid from pipes 30 and 31 and the passage of uid through the pipes is controlled by valves so that the motor can be driven in either direction and thus through the chain drive 25, 26, 27 and 28 a sprocket can be also driven in either direction.

The attachment as shown particularly lin FIG. 2 is pivoted eccentrically at 34 to uprights 35 at the rear of the truck and is supported by links 36 and 37 which are pivoted at 38 to the attachment frame and at 39 to frame members 40 extending downwardly below the truck.

At the ends of the hopper and above the path of the conveyor chains and cross bars 19 are hinged doors 41 and 42 which control the passage of the material at the two ends of the hopper.

Below one end of the hopper as shown in FIG. 3 is mounted a chute 45 through which material emptied from the truck body can be directed to the edge -of a highway or the highway shoulder at the right viewing in FIG. 3.

At the other side of the truck viewing in FIG. 3 there is mounted on a shaft 46 a spinner disc 47 which is suitably driven by a motor 49 and distributes the material on the highway. Adjustable vanes 48 may be raised or lowered to vary the spread of the material. The door 41 can be adjusted by a rod 50 and by adjusting this door the amount of material fed to the spinner disc can be controlled.

The rear wall 52 of the attachment is pivoted at S3 and can be swung outwardly on its pivot to give access to the tail gate attachment.

In order to protect the chains, flanges or ledges 55 and 56 are mounted on the walls 15 and 16 and the material fed from the truck body by suitable feeding means such as a pusher plate 57 is deposited in the hopper above the bottom 21 thereof.

l In order to permit the use of the truck without the feeding attachment acover 58 is suitably supported at its longitudinal edges and prevents the material from entering the hopper and permits the depositing of the material at the rear edge -of the cover, this being permitted by swinging the gate 52 on its pivot 53.

In FIG. 1 the attachment is shown as mounted on the rear end of a dump truck body 60 and when the cover 58 is raised and the truck body is tilted the material will fall into the hopper through the rear end of the truck body.

Although certain specic embodiments of the invention have been particularly shown and described it will be evident that the invention is capable of further modication and that further changes in the construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention as covered by the following claim.

I claim:

In combination a truck, a material conveying and spreading attachment, means eccentrically pivoting the attachment to the rear end of the truck at the bottom of the truck body, said attachment comprising a chute disposed transversely of the truck below the level of the truck platform, said chute having an apron at the bottom thereof, an endless conveyor in the chute having cross 15 bars movable above the apron at the bottom of the chute 4 and means in the chute including V-shaped bars on the apron extending longitudinally .thereof for spacing the conveyor cross bars above the apron.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,752,612 4/1930 Owens et al 198-202 X 2,246,482 6/1941 Bisset 198-168 X 2,484,689 10/1949 Davis 214-509 2,631,716 3/1953 Kottmann 198-168 3,237,756 3/1966 Pulver 198-195 GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

ALBERT I. MAKAY, Examinez'.

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