Continuous ditch excavator

Excavating – Ditcher – Condition responsive

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C037S350000, C037S417000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06813850

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a continuous ditch excavator. Many types of development projects, including residential and commercial construction and irrigation, as well as underground utility installation involving the burying of pipe or conduit, involve ditch excavation. Such ditches must frequently be angled and/or curved in order to stay within the confines of the property owned by the person authorizing the excavation or to avoid encountering natural and artificial barriers such as waterways, desired wooded areas, and preexisting underground utility installations. In addition, it is often necessary to excavate spread-footing formations, in which rectangular segments extend outward from the continuous linear ditch, for placement of column supports for buildings.
In the past, backhoes have typically been used to dig ditches. However, the motion of the backhoe arm on which the digging bucket is mounted creates undulations at the base of the ditch. In addition, the sides of the ditch are slightly widened each time the bucket enters the ditch, resulting in waste. Furthermore, the extent of these imperfections can vary greatly depending on the level of skill and training of the operating personnel, which is usually a crew of two to three people.
Other prior art devices for ditch excavating typically include augers or other digging implements that are mounted on or near the front of the excavator. This arrangement precludes continuous excavation at corners and curves in the ditch, because such excavators must cease excavation and reorient themselves whenever corners and curves in the ditch are desired. This interruption becomes more and more pronounced as the angle of the turn becomes greater; turns of 90 to 180 degrees are especially troublesome. This problem results not only in temporary work stoppage, but also in potentially inconsistent ditches. The width and depth of the ditch, as well as the pitch of the ditch walls, may vary with each retraction, reorientation, and re-engagement of the excavator at turns in the desired ditch path. In addition, with the necessary reorientation of the excavator comes the risk of misguiding the excavator during reorientation such that the integrity of the portion of the ditch that has already been excavated is compromised or damaged.
The present invention solves this problem by providing a continuous ditch excavator with a substantially centrally-disposed auger that enables the excavator chassis to rotate about the auger, thereby allowing the excavator to make turns at any angle without the need for retracting the auger from the ditch. Such a design ensures ditch consistency and integrity as well as avoidance of work stoppages caused by excavator retraction and reorientation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that may excavate ditches having corners and curves without having to retract the auger or other digging implement from the ditch.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator for efficiently producing spread-footing formations.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that can excavate spread-footing formations without retracting the auger or other digging implement from the ditch.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that increases efficiency by minimizing work stoppages associated with retraction, reorientation, and re-engagement of the excavator at corners and curves in the desired ditch path.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that preserves the integrity of ditch walls.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that accurately maintains ditch width and depth without stopping excavation.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that generally eases and expedites excavation of spread-footing formations.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that produces a ditch having a substantially level base, free from undulations.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that may be operated by one person.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that produces ditches of consistent quality and quantity when operated by persons of varying skill level.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that may be controlled by a human operator from a position either aboard or remote from the excavator, or by automation.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that prevents soil removed from the ground by the auger from falling into the ditch as the auger is raised out of the ditch.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that lays excavated dirt evenly along the ditchline or removes the dirt directly to a vehicle for removal from the site.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that provides a bin for containing soil removed from the ground and means for emptying the soil containment bin when desired.
It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous ditch excavator that produces a ditch adapted for a particular use such as burying a pipeline or water drainage.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in the preferred embodiments disclosed below by providing a continuous ditch excavator including a chassis having a forward portion and a rear portion, first and second rotatably-mounted driving elements having treads thereon, the first and second driving elements carried by the chassis in laterally spaced-apart relation to each other for driving and steering the chassis along a ground surface, and the driving elements define a centrally-disposed excavation work area therebetween. An excavating auger is rotatably-mounted on the chassis in the excavation work area forwardly of the rear portion of the chassis, rearwardly of the forward portion of the chassis and intermediate the first and second driving elements for penetrating and excavating a ditch in the ground as the chassis is driven along the ground, and auger positioning means are connected to the auger for moving the auger laterally between the first and second driving elements to permit adjustment of the position of the auger in relation to the first and second driving elements.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the auger defines a pivot point about which the chassis is adapted to pivot to control the direction of ditch excavation.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, a containment bin is mounted on the chassis in proximity to the auger for receiving soil removed from the ground by the auger.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, emptying means are provided adjacent to the containment bin for emptying the contents of the containment bin.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the emptying means include a transport auger positioned in communication with the containment bin for moving soil out of the containment bin and depositing the soil at a soil discharge location adjacent to the ditch.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the excavator includes a containment shield disposed in a first plane and adjacent to the auger for preventing the soil removed by the auger from falling back into the ditch as the auger is raised out of the ditch.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the excavator includes a second containment disposed in a second plane shield that is independently rotatable about the auger and cooperatively positioned to expose a desired area of the auger.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the containment shields cooperate with each other to surround approximately two-thirds of the cir

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