Self-loading scraper with cleaning shield for the blades

Claim 1

A self-loading earthmoving scraper including a tractor and a trailing scraper bowl, said bowl having an open front defined by a pair of laterally spaced sidewalls interconnected at the upper ends thereof by a crossmember, a horizontal scraper blade extending transversely between and rigidly connected to the lower ends of the sidewalls, an ejector located in the bowl and pivotally connected to the sidewalls thereof aDjacent the scraper blade for discharging material out of the open front end of said bowl, a loading device carried by the bowl and comprising a pair of side arms pivotally connected at the rear ends thereof to said sidewalls, said loading device including a plurality of paddles supported by said side arms above the scraper blade for orbital movement at a fixed attitude about an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the scraper blade and adapted to be driven in one direction to load material cut by said scraper blade into said bowl, a pair of double-acting hydraulic cylinders pivotally connected between said sidewalls and said side arms for raising said loading device from a first position wherein said loading device substantially closes the open end of the bowl to a second position wherein the loading device is located above the bowl so as to allow sufficient space for the ejector to discharge material out of the open front end of the bowl, each of said paddles having a front wall and a rear wall the latter of which engages material cut by said scraper blade and serves to push the material into the bowl when said loading device in in the first position and driven in said one direction, a shield enclosing the upper portion of said loading device and extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the scraper, said shield having a front portion and a rear portion, said front portion being secured to the cross member and having side edges rigidly secured to said arms, said rear portion being of a transverse length substantially equal to the distance between said arms and extending rearwardly and downwardly into said bowl and being located in a fixed position in the path of movement of the rear wall of each of said paddles so that said rear wall is cleaned by the rear portion and thereby cooperates therewith for loading material into the bowl as the loading device is driven in said one direction.