Backhoe mounting mechanism

A mechanism for mounting a material handling unit to an earthworking implement including a fore-and-aft extending frame, said mounting mechanism permitting controlled swinging movements of said material handling unit to opposite sides of said frame, said mounting mechanism comprising:

• a swing tower having said material handling member movably connected thereto, said swing tower being rotatably attached to said frame for movement in opposite directions about a first generally vertical pivot axis;
• and
• at least two double acting linearly extendable and retractable hydraulic cylinders connected between said implement frame and said swing tower for controlling the position of the swing tower and the material moving member relative to said frame, each hydraulic cylinder having a cylinder end that is articulately connected to the implement frame and a piston rod end that extends linearly from the cylinder end, a pin for articulately interconnecting a portion of said swing tower to the rod end of a respective hydraulic cylinder, said pin being vertically disposed and defining a generally vertical axis extending generally parallel to the vertical pivot axis about which the swing tower moves, and a spherical bearing captively carried by and between said piston rod end of each cylinder and a respective pin to compensate for vertical misalignment between the pivot axis about which said swing moves and the axis defined by said vertical pin thereby reducing the bending forces imparted to the respective pins upon swinging movement of the swing tower.

A mechanism for mounting an earthworking implement including an elongated boom structure to a rear end of a machine having a fore-and-aft extending frame that is supported for movement over a field, said mounting mechanism comprising:

• a swing tower having upper and lower portions pivotally mounted on the rear end of said frame for movement about a first generally vertical pivot axis defined by a pair of axially aligned and vertically spaced pivot pins that pass through said upper and lower portions of the swing tower;
• and
• two double acting linearly extendable and retractable hydraulic cylinders mounted between said frame and said swing tower within limited space constraints for imparting sideways movement about said vertical pivot axis to the swing tower and thereby to the boom structure carded thereon, with a cylinder end of each hydraulic cylinder being connected to the implement frame on one side of the vertical pivot axis by a trunion mounting that offers improved swing torque characteristics to the mounting mechanism within limited space constraints, and with a rod end of each hydraulic cylinder being connected to the swing tower by a vertical pin defining a vertical axis disposed on an opposite side of the vertical pivot axis about which said swing tower moves, and wherein a spherical bearing is captively carried at and between the rod end of each hydraulic cylinder and the respective pin that connects the rod end to the swing tower to compensate for vertical misalignment between the vertical pivot axis of the swing tower and the vertical axis of each pin thereby reducing bending moments imparted to the pin during swinging movements of the swing tower and boom without significantly increasing the distance separating the vertical pivot axis from the rear end of the implement frame.