Material or article handling – Vertically swinging load support – Shovel or fork type
Patent
1984-08-15
1986-01-21
Crowder, Clifford D.
Material or article handling
Vertically swinging load support
Shovel or fork type
414726, 414740, 37DIG3, E02F 300
Patent
active
045654859
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a versatile material handling device for use on a vehicle, which device is capable of acting both as a grab and as a scoop or bucket loader. When acting as a grab, the grab members provided with tines, can be closed together or opened, like jaws, to hold or release cohesive or solid material, such as bundles, or relatively large solid or rigid items, which can be handled by fork-like tines. When acting as a scoop or bucket loader, it is capable of handling loose material such as soil, sand or slurry.
The invention is particularly, although not exclusively applicable to an agricultural loader for loading for example grass, silage, timber or large cartons or containers, and which may be mounted on the front of a tractor; however, the invention may also find use in a wide variety of different applications from small implements up to large industrial materials handling equipment or machines.
A known silage grab comprises two grab members of which one, termed a fork member, has a solid rectangular flat back-plate with fork tines projecting forwardly from its lower edge and generally at right angles to it; the other member, termed the top grab, has a rectangular frame top from one side edge of which extend tines generally downwardly, and there may also be tines extending down from the end edges of the frame so that the frame and the tines along the side and at each end form half a cage.
The two members are mounted so that they can be pivoted together in a closed position forming a complete cage with the tips of the fork tines and top grab tines almost touching.
When mounted on the front hydraulically-operated arms of a tractor, such a silage grab can be used for grabbing silage or grass or even timber, and lifting and moving it, the material being released by opening the grab members after having pivoted the two members jointly if necessary so that as they open the material falls out from between them.
Such a grab has its limitations. It cannot be used for granular material like animal feed cake or grain because the small pieces fall out between the tines. Nor could it be used for moving particulate material like sand or soil nor liquid or semi-liquid/solid material like slurries. If the tines are placed nearer together or replaced by solid walls, then the grab becomes cumbersome and it would then be difficult to get the tines or walls to penetrate deep into silage. it is usually necessary therefore for farmers to have other types of equipment for handling such other materials.
It has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,477 and U.K. patent specification No. 1 536 937 to convert such a grab for use as a bucket loader by attaching, for example by bolting, web plates to the fork member so that the fork tines are masked and the spaces between the tines are covered, and by attaching side plates so that a scoop is provided. When a bucket loading operation is completed and the device is once again required for use as a silage grab, the plates have to be removed.
It will be appreciated that such attachment and removal of these plates is a time consuming and dirty operation and furthermore the web plates when not in use have to be stored and may therefore not be readily to hand when immediately required.
A principal object of the invention is to provide a more versatile material handling apparatus of the mechanical grab type which can act either as a silage grab or as a bucket loader without additional or supplementary components having to be fitted or removed when changing from one type of use to the other.
Another object is to provide a device which can be used selectively, at will, either as a grab or as a bucket loader entirely under remote control by an operator, from a vehicle to which the device is fitted.
Another object is to provide a device which can be used as a grab or as a bucket loader merely by changing the relative position of the grab members.
According to the present invention there is provided a material handling device for use on a vehicle, which device is capable of acting
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patent: 3455477 (1969-07-01), Blair
patent: 3700131 (1972-10-01), Westendorf
patent: 3817567 (1974-06-01), Lull
Canadian Patent 942,714, Feb. 24, 1974.
Bobcat 2000--Clark Bobcat Brochure, Printed in Belgium, possibly in 1982.
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