Patent · US Expired

Rock saw with centerline conveyor assembly and method of digging a narrow trench

US5575538A · kind A · utility

30Cited by
8References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 1, 1995
Grant dateNov 19, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 1, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
  • CPC primaryE02F9/028
  • WIPO fieldCivil engineering
  • WIPO sectorOther fields

Abstract

A rock saw has a cutting wheel and a conveyor assembly capable of retrieving automatically essentially all materials excavated by the cutting wheel and of discharging the retrieved materials into an adjacent truck or the like. The conveyor assembly includes a loading conveyor which is movable from a raised transport position to a lowered operative position. When in its operative position, an inlet end of the loading conveyor is positioned on the ground in a discharge region of the cutting wheel and is biased into engagement with the ground so as not to bounce up and down in operation but so as to ride over rocks and other obstructions without damaging the conveyor. The cutting wheel is both pivotable and slidable with respect to the vehicle mainframe so as to be capable of cutting trenches of radically different depths while still assuring retrieval of essentially all excavated materials by the loading conveyor.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.