Blade levelling apparatus and mounting system

Abstract

A levelling apparatus, typically as used on tractors, excavators and skid-steer vehicles, and references the levelling assembly and mounting options including directly to the existing blade of vehicles as well as other mounting arrangements is provided. Preferred embodiments of a levelling apparatus include a blade body portion and body mounting portion connected by an arrangement of fixed and adjustable linkages, preferably hydraulic, to allow movement of the blade body portion (relative to the body mounting portion) in substantially an up and down direction, as well as rotational movement about an axis perpendicular to the general plane of an attached blade.

Claims

1. A blade levelling assembly for mounting to a vehicle, the blade levelling assembly comprising: a body mounting portion; and a blade body portion, said body mounting portion and the blade body portion being connected by first and second sets of connecting linkages, the first set of connecting linkages comprising two fixed length stabilizing arms, each of the fixed length stabilizing arms of the first set of connecting linkages being (i) pivotably connected at one end to a fixed point on the body mounting portion, the fixed point being at or near the middle of the body mounting portion, and (ii) extending diagonally outwardly, when viewed in plan, from the fixed point on the body mounting portion, to pivotally connect to the blade body portion at a point outwardly of the middle of the blade body portion, the second set of connecting linkages comprising two fixed length stabilizing arms, each of the fixed length stabilizing arms of the second set of connecting linkages being (i) pivotably connected at one end to the body mounting portion at a first point outwardly and on either side of the middle of the body mounting portion when viewed in plan, and (ii) pivotally connected at another end to to the blade body portion at a point outwardly and on either side of the middle of the blade body portion, said first and second sets of connecting linkages being vertically separated from each other when said blade levelling assembly is viewed from the side, when said blade levelling assembly is viewed from the side, said points where said stabilizing arms of said first set of connecting linkages connect to said body mounting portion being vertically separated from the points where said stabilizing arms of said second set of connecting linkages connect to said body mounting portion, when said blade levelling assembly is viewed from the side, said points where said stabilizing arms of said first set of connecting linkages connect to said blade body portion being vertically separated from said points where said stabilizing arms of said second set of connecting linkages connect to said blade body portion, said first and second sets of connecting linkages interacting to allow relative movement of the blade body portion relative to the body mounting portion, said relative movement comprising: (i) vertical translational movement of said blade body portion relative to said body mounting portion, and (ii) rotational movement of said blade body portion, relative to said body mounting portion, about an axis normal to a general plane of the blade body portion, and wherein a forward inclination of said blade body portion relative to said body mounting portion remains substantially unaltered during said relative movements.

2. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second sets of connecting linkages comprise linear actuators, one end of each of the linear actuators being connected to a first connection point outwardly and to either side of the middle of said blade levelling assembly when viewed in plan, another end of each of the linear actuators being connected to a connection point outwardly and on either side of the middle of said blade mounting assembly.

3. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first connection point of one of the linear actuators to the body mounting portion is vertically displaced relative to the second connection of the linear actuator to the blade body portion when the blade levelling assembly is viewed from the side.

4. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one connection between the body mounting portion or the blade body portion and the first and second connecting linkages is a pivotable connection comprising a ball joint.

5. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the ball joint includes a spherical resilient bush.

6. The blade levelling assembly as claimed claim 1, wherein there is a substantially symmetrical distribution of stabilizing arms from the first and second sets of connecting linkages, when viewed in plan.

7. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said linear actuator is hydraulically operated.

8. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blade body portion includes at least one stabilizing wheel.

9. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein said stabilizing wheel is alternable between operational and non-operational configurations.

10. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body mounting portion is attachable to the vehicle.

11. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the body mounting portion attaches to an existing blade mounted on said vehicle.

12. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 11, further comprising at least one top hook assembly and one bottom hook assembly, the at least one top hook assembly and the one bottom hook assembly being configured to hook over the top and bottom respectively of an existing blade on a vehicle.

13. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one of said hook assemblies affixes to a point of the blade body portion of the blade levelling assembly.

14. The blade levelling assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blade levelling assembly is configured to be affixed to a vehicle.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a partial plan view of one preferred embodiment of the present invention,

(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in an alternative configuration,

(3) FIG. 3 are front views of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the blade in lowered, raised, and inclined (about a forward axis) respectively,

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention in a folded configuration,

(5) FIG. 5 is a side diagrammatic view of the embodiment of FIG. 3,

(6) FIG. 6 is a side diagrammatic view of FIG. 4 in an extended configuration,

(7) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the embodiment in FIG. 6,

(8) FIG. 8 is a side diagrammatic view of a further embodiment of the present invention attached to the existing blade of a vehicle, and

(9) FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(10) With reference to the drawings, and by way of example only, there is provided a levelling assembly (generally indicated by arrow 1) comprising a body attachment portion (generally indicated by arrow 2) and a blade body portion (generally indicated by arrow 3); the two body portions (2, 3) being connected by body connecting linkages (5-7) which allow a substantially translational movement of the blade body portion (3), substantially parallel and relative to the blade body portion (2)see for instance FIGS. 3a and 3b; the body connecting linkages (5-7) also allowing a rotational movement of the blade body portion (3), relative to the body attachment portion (2), about a rotational axis substantially in the direction of forward travel (9) of the assembly (1)see for instance FIG. 3c; said body connecting linkages including linear actuators (5a, b), there being at least one linear actuator (5) being present either side of the middle (10) of the levelling assembly (1) when viewed in plan; said body connecting linkages (5-7) also including at least one pivot-ended stabilising linkage (6-7) either side of the middle (10) of the levelling assembly (1) when viewed in plan;
and wherein the body connecting linkages (5-7) assist in maintaining relative movement of the body portions to as described above.

(11) The body attachment portion (2) includes a quick-hitch arrangement (4) such as commonly used on skid-steer tractors.

(12) In the illustrated embodiment (1) there are two hydraulically controlled upper linear actuators (5a, b) which can be independently controlled to alter the relationship of each end of the blade portion (3) relative to the body attachment portion (2). This is best illustrated in FIG. 2, where right hand actuator (5b) is contracted relative to left hand actuator (5a) to adopt a configuration such as shown in FIG. 3c. While lower linkages (7) may comprise connecting arms, these may also comprise hydraulically controlled lower linear actuators which work in cooperation with actuators (5) to allow the blade body portion to adopt the configurations shown in FIG. 3, and combinations thereof. This arrangement can also allow for alteration of the inclination of the blade (11) about a transverse axis, under the control of the operator.

(13) The stabilising linkages, pivot-ended linkages (6a, b) (7a, b) have ball joint ends where they attach to at least one of the body portions (2, 3) which is necessary to allow for the permitted relative movements of the body portions (2, 3). In the present invention a spherical bush is used in the jointsthis joint (14) can be clearly seen in the stabilising arms (6) where they (in this embodiment) attach to a central mounting point (15) on the body mounting portion (2).

(14) The geometry of the remaining connecting linkages (stabilising arms (6-7)) assist in maintaining the relationship between the two body portions (2, 3) as movement occurs (such as shown in FIG. 3). In this arrangement the distance of separation between the body portions (2, 3) remains substantially the same, as does their relative forward/rearward inclinations (i.e. inclination being rotation about a transverse axis) relative to each other (though some flexibility is allowed here in the design of the geometry in various embodiments).

(15) The primary permitted relative movements between the body portions (2, 3) are, when viewed from the front and wherein the body attachment portion (2) is considered fixed in position, relative upward and downward movement of the blade body portion (3) relative to the body attachment portion (2), as well as allowing relative upward and downward movement of each end of the blade body portion (3) relative to the body attachment portion (2)allowing also for inclination of the blade portion (3) (relative to the body attachment portion (2)), such as shown in FIG. 2.

(16) Accordingly there is provided a precise alteration of the elevation and rotational inclination of the blade relative to the quick hitch (4) (which follows the roll inclination of the vehicle in response to ground contours) without the need for heavy and expensive quick hitch rotational attachments. The arrangement of the illustrated embodiment theoretically provides for faster (quick response movements are important for a moving vehicle) changes to the elevation and rotational inclination of the blade, as well as being much more precise.

(17) The actuators can also be coupled to a laser levelling control system (sensors or emitters can be mounted on arms (not shown) which fix at positions (12) on the blade portion (3)) so that the blade (11) is maintained at true ground elevation and the horizontal, regardless of any pitching and rolling movements of the vehicle to which it (1) is attached. As mentioned above, the quicker responsiveness of the present embodiment also allows the vehicle to travel faster.

(18) Preliminary trials by the inventor, have indicated that the present invention when used with a laser levelling system can level ground to a much higher degree of precision (3 mm compared to 10 mm) approximately 12 times faster than when using a similar arrangement with a prior art device. This represents a very significant advance in the art in terms of productivity and precision. Accordingly this also opens the present invention up to other applications where a tool on a moving vehicle needs to be maintained at a precise inclination and elevation.

(19) In FIGS. 4 and 5 we see a folding embodiment of the present invention, where a provided stabilising arm assembly (30) has a folding end portion (31) on which a ground contacting stabilising wheel arrangement (32) is mounted.

(20) In FIG. 5 the reduced front to rear length of the apparatus is evident, as are the potential transport benefits. Similarly, the closer proximity of the blade (11) to the front of the apparatus, for close work, can be gauged.

(21) In FIGS. 6 and 7 we see a further embodiment suitable for attachment to an excavator. Rather than a quick hitch (4) we have an arm arrangement (50) to which is pivotably attached (53) a T-pin (51) comprising a quick hitch adaptor (which may be of different quick connect configurations) to which the quick hitch adaptor (54) of an excavator's (not shown) dipper arm (52) may be attached. This arrangement makes the levelling assembly available for use with excavators, a new and novel arrangement which significantly improves the versatility of both excavators and levelling devices.

(22) In FIGS. 8 and 9 we see an alternative mounting system to the ubiquitous quick hitch (4), the body mounting portion (70) attaching to the existing blade (71) of a vehicle (not shown for simplicity).

(23) Here at least one upper hook portion (72) affixed to the body mounting portion (70) hooks over the top of the existing blade (71). A contacting bar (78) may be provided on the body mounting portion (70) to help accommodate the different curves of blades and reduce possible damage to the blade (71).

(24) A lower hook portion (73) connected by a flexible linkage (74) to an adjustable linking element (75), in turn connected to an element (79) associated with the body mounting portion (70), helps secure the levelling assembly (1) to the existing blade (71) as the adjustable element(s) (75) are tightened. The adjustable element (75) may simply be a turnbuckle in a preferred element, and may be provided with an arm (76) to help tighten the turnbuckle, and provide additional stabilisation when the distal end of the arm (76) is connected to a point (77) on the blade body portion (3) after tightening.

(25) Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as described herein.

(26) It should also be understood that the term comprise where used herein is not to be considered to be used in a limiting sense. Accordingly, comprise does not represent nor define an exclusive set of items, but includes the possibility of other components and items being added to the list.

(27) This specification is also based on the understanding of the inventor regarding the prior art. The prior art description should not be regarded as being authoritative disclosure on the true state of the prior art but rather as referencing considerations brought to the mind and attention of the inventor when developing this invention.