Invention de la pelle mécanique

Réponse du service Guichet du Savoir


La première "pelle mécanique" est une pelle à vapeur inventée par William Otis en 1835. Il en déposa le brevet à Philadelphie en 1839. Elle fut remplacée au début du XXème siècle par les machines à diesel. Elle est souvent considérée comme l'ancêtre de toutes les machines de construction.

A steam shovel is a large steam powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as snow and soil. It was invented by William Otis who received a patent for his design in 1839.
Basically a steam shovel consists of a caterpillar track or rail track mounted steam engine which is used to drive pulleys that move a hinged boom and bucket-shaped scoop under the control of an engineer. During the early 20th Century steam shovels lost out to the more powerful Diesel powered excavating machines that we still see today. Although many have been scrapped some can still be found in industrial museums and are popular restoration projects for steam enthusiasts.
source : Wikipedia anglais.

Vous trouverez des modèles de pelles à vapeur sur ce site.