US3563045A

US3563045A - Pipe and tubing trench digger

Info

Publication number: US3563045A
Application number: US772731A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert O Hansen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-11-01
Filing date: 1968-11-01
Publication date: 1971-02-16
Anticipated expiration: 1988-02-16

Abstract

WHEN IT IS DESIREABLE TO BURY CERTAIN PIPE, TUBING OR CABLES WHICH ARE USED OR EMPLOYED BY PUBLIC UTILITIES, IT IS NECESSARY TO DIG A TRENCH TO RECEIVE THESE ELEMENTS. WITH MY PLOW A WIDE DITCH IS NOT REQUIRED BUT, ON THE CONTARY, A RELATIVELY NARROW TRENCH IS DUG TO THE DESIRED DEPTH IN THE GROUND, AND THIS TRENCH OR SLOT IS EASILY RECOVERED WITHOUT THE NEED OF A WIDE OPEN TRENCH.

Description

Feb. 16, 1971 R. o. HANSEN 3,563,045

PIPE AND TUBING TRENCH DTFGHR Filed NOV. .1 1968 FIG.I 7 4 Z3 3 3 a L- WWW I NVENTOR. 055 0. HANSEN United States Patent Office 3,563,045 Patented Feb. 16, 1971 3,563,045 PIPE AND TUBING TRENCH DIGGER Robert 0. Hansen, 4549 W. Rosecrans,

Hawthorne, Calif. 90250 Filed Nov. 1, 1968, Ser. No. 772,731 Int. Cl. F161 1/00; E02f /18 U.S. Cl. 61-72.7 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An object of my invention is to provide a novel pipe and tubing trench digger which employs a relatively narrow blade which is lowered in the ground to the desired depth, and is then dragged through the earth by means of a tractor or other heavy duty road working machinery.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel trench digger of the character stated which employs a rotating cutter or head to assist in moving the trenching blade through the earth, and also assist in pulling the cable, pipe or tubing through the open trench.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a novel trench digger of the character stated which can be mounted on and operated from a boom on the pulling vehicle, and which can also be transported from place to place all on the pulling behicle.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of my trench digger in operative position.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the trenching tool.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, my trench digger 1 is mounted on the boom 2 which extends from the rear of the pulling vehicle, which can be a usual and well known type of tractor or other road machinery all of which is well known in the art. The boom 2 extends a considerable distance from the rear of the pulling vehicle 3, substantially as shown in FIG. 1. The trench digger includes a vibrating mechanism including a motor 4 which may be electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic as desired. This motor is mounted directly in the coupling platform 5 which is fixedly attached to the boom 2. The motor 4 drives the vibrating mechanism 6 through appropriate gears or belt 7, and the platform or mount 5 is thus given a vertical vibrating motion which is also usual and well known in the art.

A trenching blade 8 is mounted on the platform 5 by means of a flange 9, or other suitable coupling means. The blade 8 is substantially triangular in cross-section and has a relatively sharp leading edge 10 which is pulled through the ground to form the trench 11 to the required depth. When the platform 5 is vibrated as previously described, the blade 8 will also vibrate and will thus cut through the ground to the required depth, and also the trench has a width approximately the width of the base 12 of the blade 8. Thus the trench which is dug by the digger is relatively narrow and requires little effort to refill after the cable, pipe or tubing has been laid.

Since the boom 2 is relatively long, a supporting skid 13 may be employed at its outer end to help support the boom and the weight of the trenching device thereon, and this skid is pulled along the surface of the ground, as shown in FIG. 1.

To assist the blade 8 in cutting through the earth as it is pulled forwardly in the direction of the arrow 14 I provide a rotating cutter 15 which is mounted at the lower end of the blade 8 as follows: A housing 16 is fixedly attached to the lower end of the blade 8 in a suitable manner, and this housing contains a motor 17 which may be electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic as desired. The motor 17 has a drive shaft 18 to which the cutter head 15 is attached. A cleaning blade 19 is also secured to the shaft 18 and rotates with it for the purpose of cleaning the bore hole made by the cutter 15. The cutter 15 will form a bore hole 20 at the bottom of the trench 11 and the cable, tubing or pipe 21 is attached to the housing 16 by means of the cable 22 or any other suitable means which has sufilcient tensile strength to pull the pipe or cable through the bore 20.

The motor 17 is supplied with its driving energy through the cable 23 which extends along the rear edge of the blade 8 up to the boom 2, and thence to a suitable source of energy. It may also be advantageous to cool and also cleanse the area around the motor 17, and this is provided by the pipe 24 which extends along the rear edge of the blade 8, and thence to a suitable pump which supplies water or air both to the housing 16 for cooling and cleaning purposes.

-In operation:

A hole is first dug in the ground to the desired depth, after which the boom 2 is lowered with the blade 8 and attached parts thereon into this hole. The pulling vehicle 3 then moves forwardly and the blade 8 will cut a horizontal trench in the ground to the required depth. The motor 17 is driven which rotates the cutter head 15 which cuts a bore 20 at the bottom of the trench 11, which assists in pulling the blade 8 forwardly and also provides ample space in which the cable or pipe 21 can be laid. The pipe 2 1 is laid continuously as long as the pulling vehicle and the cutting blade and cutter head 15 is moved forwardly. The pipe or cable is thus laid the required distance without the need of digging a reatively wide trench in which a workman may stand. The workman never enters the trench but merely feeds the pipe or cable into the narrow slot or trench 11 and assures that the cable or pipe does not kink or coil.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A pipe and tubing trench digger comprising a boom extending from a pulling vehicle, a blade depending from the boom and mounted thereon, a cutter head on said blade, means mounted on the blade at the lower end thereof, and a drive shaft extending from said means to the cutter head to drive said cutter head, and attaching means on said blade connected to the boom, said means to drive the cutter head including a motor, a housing enclosing the motor, said housing being fixedly mounted on the blade, and said cutter head being mounted in a horizontal position.

2. A pipe and tubing trench digger comprising a boom extending from a pulling vehicle, a blade depending from the boom and mounted thereon, a cutter head on said blade, means mounted on the blade at the lower end thereof, and a drive shaft extending from said means to the cutter head to drive said cutter head, and attaching means on said blade connected to the boom, vibrating means on said boom, and said blade being attached thereto, said means to drive the cutter head including a motor, a housing enclosing the motor, said housing being fixedly mounted on the blade, said cutter head being mounted in a horizontal position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Gonzales 61-72.1X

Christensen 61-72.1X

Kinnan 6172.6

Ryan 37193X 5 JACOB SHAPIRO, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.