U.S. patent application number 10/664786 was filed with the patent office on 2004-07-22 for bucket extension for front loaders.
Invention is credited to Raup, Charles.
Application Number | 20040140110 10/664786 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32718217 |
Filed Date | 2004-07-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040140110 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Raup, Charles |
July 22, 2004 |
Bucket extension for front loaders
Abstract
A bucket extension for providing the main bucket of a front
loader with side extension buckets that extends the useable width
of the main bucket for material moving. The extension or side
buckets are pivotally connected to the sides of the main bucket. In
their closed and stored position the open fronts of the bucket
extensions are mounted facing the open front of the main bucket.
When they are extended, the side extension buckets pivot
180.degree. about the pivot connection to an open operable position
with the open front of the extension facing the same direction as
the open front of the main bucket. Locking means are provided to
lock the bucket extensions in the open position.
Inventors: |
Raup, Charles; (Urbana,
IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KNECHTEL DEMEUR & SAMLAN
ATTN: ALAN B. SAMLAN
222 S. RIVERSIDE, SUITE 1410
CHICAGO
IL
60606
US
|
Family ID: |
32718217 |
Appl. No.: |
10/664786 |
Filed: |
September 22, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60441505 |
Jan 21, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
172/817 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E02F 3/7609 20130101;
E02F 3/8152 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
172/817 |
International
Class: |
E02F 003/76 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A bucket attachment for extending the operable width of a main
bucket of a loader, the main bucket having a front facing open
front, a closed back, and opposed sides, the bucket attachment
comprising: an open front, a closed back, and first and second
opposed sides, at least one of the opposed sides being a closed
side, pivotal attachment means for pivotally connecting the bucket
attachment to the main bucket, the pivotal attachment means for
permitting the bucket attachment to pivot from a closed, stored
position in which the bucket attachment is pivoted so that the open
front of the bucket attachment faces the open front of the main
bucket, to an open, operable position in which the bucket
attachment has the open front of the bucket attachment facing the
same direction as the front facing open front of the main
bucket.
2. The bucket attachment of claim 1 wherein the pivotal attachment
means comprises a hinge connection between the main bucket and the
bucket attachment.
3. The bucket attachment of claim 2 and further comprising locking
means for securely retaining the bucket attachment in the open,
operable position.
4. The bucket attachment of claim 3 wherein the locking means
comprises a first cylindrical member on the main bucket and a
second cylindrical member on the bucket attachment, the first and
second cylindrical members aligned with each other when the bucket
attachment is in the open, operable position, and a pin inserted
through the aligned first and second cylindrical members for
retaining the first and second cylindrical members in a locked
position.
5. The bucket attachment of claim 1 and further comprising a second
bucket attachment comprising an open front, a closed back, and
opposed sides, at least one of the opposed sides being a closed
side, second pivotal attachment means for pivotally connecting the
second bucket attachment to the main bucket, the second pivotal
attachment means for permitting the second bucket attachment to
pivot from a closed, stored position in which the second bucket
attachment is pivoted so that the open front of the bucket
attachment faces the open front of the main bucket, to an open,
operable position in which the second bucket attachment has the
open front of the second bucket attachment facing the same
direction as the front facing open front of the main bucket.
6. The bucket attachment of claim 5 and further comprising second
locking means for securely retaining the second bucket extension in
the open, operable position.
7. A bucket attachment for extending the operable width of a main
bucket of a loader, in which the main bucket has an open front, a
closed back, and opposed first and second sides, the bucket
attachment comprising: an open front, a closed back, and first and
second opposed sides, at least the second of the opposed sides
being a closed side, pivotal attachment means mounted on at least
one of the main bucket opposed first or second sides for pivotally
connecting the bucket attachment to either of the opposed first or
second sides, the pivotal attachment means for permitting the
bucket attachment means to pivot from a closed, stored position in
which the bucket attachment faces the open front of the main
bucket, to an open, operable position in which the first opposed
side of the bucket attachment is adjacent to the first opposed side
of the of the main bucket and the open front of the bucket
attachment faces in the same direction as the open front of the
main bucket.
8. The bucket attachment of claim 7 wherein the pivotal attachment
means comprises a hinge connection between the main bucket and the
bucket attachment.
9. The bucket attachment of claim 7 and further comprising locking
means for securely retaining the bucket attachment in the open,
operable position.
10. The bucket attachment of claim 9 wherein the locking means
comprises a first cylindrical member on the main bucket and a
second cylindrical member on the bucket attachment, the first and
second cylindrical members aligned with each other when the bucket
attachment is in the open, operable position, and a pin inserted
through the aligned first and second cylindrical members for
retaining the first and second cylindrical members in a locked
position.
11. The bucket attachment of claim 7 and further comprising a
second bucket attachment comprising an open front, a closed back,
and opposed sides, at least the second of the opposed sides being a
closed side, second pivotal attachment means mounted on the side of
the main bucket opposite the side that the bucket attachment is
mounted for pivotally connecting the second bucket attachment to
the main bucket, the second pivotal attachment means for permitting
the second bucket attachment to pivot from a closed, stored
position in which the second bucket attachment is pivoted so that
the open front of the bucket attachment faces the open front of the
main bucket, to an open, operable position in which the second
bucket attachment has the second opposed side of the bucket
attachment adjacent to the opposed second side of the of the main
bucket and the open front of the second bucket attachment facing
the same direction as the front facing open front of the main
bucket.
12. The bucket attachment of claim 11 and further comprising second
locking means for securely retaining the second bucket extension in
the open, operable position.
13. A combination main bucket of a loader and bucket attachment for
extending the operable width of the main bucket, in which the main
bucket has an open front, a closed back, and opposed first and
second sides, the open front and front sides defining main bucket
side edges, the bucket attachment comprising: a left bucket
attachment having an open front, a closed back, and first and
second opposed sides, at least one of the opposed sides being a
closed side and the other opposed side defining a left bucket
attachment side edge, a right bucket attachment having an open
front, a closed back, and first and second opposed sides, at least
one of the opposed sides being a closed side and the other opposed
side defining a right bucket attachment side edge, first pivotal
attachment means on one of the main bucket side edges for pivotally
connecting the left bucket attachment to one side of the main
bucket, second pivotal attachment means on the other of the main
bucket edges for pivotally connecting the right bucket attachment
to the other side of the main bucket, the first and second pivotal
attachment means for permitting the left and right bucket
attachments to pivot from a closed, stored position in which the
bucket attachment is pivoted so that the open front of the bucket
attachment faces the open front of the main bucket, to an open,
operable position in which the bucket attachment has the open front
of the bucket attachment facing the same direction as the front
facing open front of the main bucket.
14. The combination main bucket and bucket extensions of claim 13
where in the first pivotal attachment means connects the left
bucket attachment to the main bucket along the left bucket
attachment side edge and the second pivotal attachment means
connects the right bucket attachment to the main bucket along the
right bucket attachment side edge.
15. The bucket attachment of claim 13 wherein the pivotal
attachment means comprises a hinge connection between the main
bucket and the bucket attachment.
16. The bucket attachment of claim 13 and further comprising
locking means for securely retaining the bucket attachments in the
open, operable position.
17. The bucket attachment of claim 13 wherein the locking means
comprises a pair of first cylindrical members on the main bucket
and a pair of second cylindrical members, one on each of the bucket
attachments, the first and second cylindrical members aligned with
each other when the bucket attachments are in the open, operable
position, and a pin inserted through the aligned first and second
cylindrical members for retaining the first and second cylindrical
members in a locked position.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is based on and claims priority of
provisional patent application No. 60/441,505 filed Jan. 21,
2003.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention is related to material moving equipment and
more particularly to front loaders that have buckets attached to
the front moveable arm.
[0003] Heavy equipment called "front loaders" is used for moving
loose materials such as snow, sand, dirt, and bulk food products
such as corn, wheat and related grains. These front loaders are
generally rubber wheeled vehicles that can move over the roads and
highways. At the front of the front loader is an arm that is
hydraulically controlled. At the forward portion of the arm is
mounted a bucket that receives and moves the loose material. The
arm can be raised, lowered and tilted to control the position of
the bucket.
[0004] In prior devices the bucket is a fixed width bucket. It
cannot practically be wider than the permissible width allowed by
state law to travel over the roads and highways. Otherwise, if the
bucket were too wide it would make the vehicle unsafe to travel on
the roads for fear of striking an approaching vehicle. This maximum
width is generally eight feet. However, there are times that a
bucket wider than eight feet is needed or is desired. For example,
when clearing snow from parking lots or when trying to clear the
road and adjacent shoulder, it would be desirable to have a bucket
that is fourteen feet wide. This wider bucket clears a
corresponding wider path, thus requiring fewer passes with the
front loader to clear the same area.
[0005] Several attempts have been made in the past to solve the
problem of supplying a vehicle with a front bucket and means to
extend its width. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,169 issued to
Aubichon discloses an attachment that increases the size of a
bucket to increase the efficiency of snow removal. The attachment
is secured to the bucket by hooks attached to the upper edge of the
bucket. The attachment increases the width of the bucket and
directs the snow towards the bucket for removal.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,318 issued to Daniels discloses a
snowplow with a blade having pivoting end extensions that pivot
outward from behind the blade to increase the overall width of the
blade. Hinges and support members connect the extensions to the
blade. The blade extensions are hydraulically operated to open them
from behind the blade to their extended position. This is an
expensive solution to the problem.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,444 issued to Desmarais discloses a
snowplow having a central blade and two moving blades hinged to the
ends of the main blade. The two moving blades can be adjusted by
power means so that their angle with respect to the main blade is
adjustable.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,689 issued to Turk discloses a side
plate attachment that is mounted onto the sides of a snowplow
blade. The side plates do not extend the width of the plow but are
designed to enclose the plow to create a form of bucket.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,585 issued to Boulet discloses a wing
accessory mounted on each end of a bucket of a front end loader.
The wing is hooked extending over the front edge of the bucket.
There is a coupling for securing the accessory to the back side of
the bucket. The wing is not pivotally connected to the main bucket
and cannot be folded in front of the bucket to a closed
position.
[0010] Applicant's invention solves the problem of providing a
front loader with a bucket that has a standard width allowing the
vehicle to legally and safely travel over the roads and highways,
and yet provides a bucket that extends to a greater width when it
is to be used for material moving. It also provides a front loader
with an economical means of bucket extensions on both the left and
right sides of the bucket by providing side buckets that are
pivotally connected to the main bucket. The side buckets are
pivotally connected to the main bucket. In their closed and stored
position the bucket extensions are mounted in front of the main
bucket. When they are extended, the side buckets pivot 180.degree.
about the pivot connection to the sides of the main bucket into an
open operable position. Locking means are provided to lock the
bucket extensions in the open position.
[0011] Thus it is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle
for moving material with a main bucket and extension buckets at the
side of the main bucket. It is a related object to provide a
vehicle that can legally travel over the roads and highways with
the bucket extensions in a stored position, and can have the
buckets extended to their open operable positions when they are
needed to increase the width of the bucket area.
[0012] A related object is to provide a vehicle having bucket
extensions that are easily moved between their stored position to
their operable open position. Another object is to provide bucket
extensions that are relatively inexpensive and easy to add to
existing front loaders or similar equipment.
[0013] These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from
the Description of the Drawings and Description of the Preferred
Embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the front loader with
the main bucket and a left side bucket extension and a right side
bucket extension in the opened, operable position ready for
use.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a right side view of the right side bucket
extension in the closed, stored position.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a front view with portions removed of the left
side bucket extension in the closed, stored position.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a rear view of the left side bucket extension
being positioned in the open, operable position illustrating the
locking mechanism.
[0018] FIG. 5 is side view of the hinge plate that mounts on the
outer sidewall of the main bucket.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a left front perspective view of the left side
bucket extension and hinge pin, with the right side bucket
extension being a mirror image thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] Looking at FIG. 1, we can see in phantom a front loader 10
of conventional design. The front loader 10 travels on large rubber
wheels 11 so that it is adapted for roads, highways, parking lots
and other paved surfaces. At the front of the front loader 10 is a
front or forward facing main bucket 12 with an open front. The main
bucket 12 is mounted to an arm 14 on the front loader 10. When
facing the front loader 10, there is a left side bucket extension
16 and a right side bucket extension 18. The main bucket 12 has a
width "w" of approximately eight feet. The left and right side
bucket extensions 16, 18 are approximately 31/2 feet wide,
extending the overall width of the main bucket to approximately
fourteen feet when the bucket extensions 16, 18 are in the open
position as seen in FIG. 1.
[0021] Turning to FIG. 2, we see the right side view of the main
bucket 12 and an inner sidewall 20 of the right side bucket
extension 18. The right side bucket extension 18 is connected to
the main bucket 12 by a hinge 22. The left side bucket extension 16
is connected to the main bucket 12 in the same manner as the right
side bucket extension 18 and is illustrated in the closed position
in FIG. 3.
[0022] FIG. 5 illustrates the hinge plate 24 in greater detail
where it is seen that it is made up of a vertical portion 26 and a
horizontal portion 28. The portions 26 and 28 can be made from a
singular piece of steel or two pieces fastened together. There are
additional supporting brackets 30, 32 mounted on the vertical
portion 26. The supporting brackets 30, 32 assist in positioning
and supporting the hinge plate 24 when it is mounted to the side 34
of the main bucket 12. There are bolt holes 36 that receive
mounting bolts 38 to firmly attach the hinge plate 24 to the side
34. Welding the hinge plate 24 to the side 34 can also be used for
additional strength. When the hinge plate 24 is mounted to the side
34, a plurality of hinge tubes 39 extend beyond the main bucket 12.
Complementary hinge tubes 40 are located on the bucket extension so
that all of the hinge tubes align with each other. A hinge pin 42
is inserted into the aligned hinge tubes 39, 40 to pivotally attach
the extension buckets 16, 18 to the main bucket 12. The extension
buckets are free to pivot about the hinge 22 from the closed
position as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 to the open position of FIG.
1.
[0023] There is a locking mechanism to hold the bucket extensions
16, 18 in the open position once they are pivoted from the closed
position to the open position. The locking mechanism is illustrated
in FIG. 4. There is a locking tube 46 that is mounted on the rear
of the main bucket 12. There are a pair of locking tubes 48, 50 on
the rear edge of each bucket extension 16, 18 that are disposed
above and below the locking tube 46 when the bucket extensions 16
and 18 are pivoted to the fully open position. A locking pin 52 is
placed through the aligned tubes 46, 48 and 50 to lock the bucket
extensions 16, 18 in the open position.
[0024] FIG. 6 illustrates the left side bucket extension 16 with
the right side bucket extension 18 being a mirror image. There is a
base 54 with a front edge 56. The front edge 56 can be fitted with
a scraper blade 57 for snow and ice removal, and can be replaced
when worn out. The inner sidewall 20 is adjacent to the main bucket
side when in the open position. There is an outer sidewall 58
opposite the inner sidewall 20. A back 60 encloses the rear of the
bucket extension 16. There is an open front opposite the back
60.
[0025] To use the invention, the left and right side bucket
extensions 16 and 18 are normally closed in front of the main
bucket 12 as seen in FIG. 2. This is the closed position in which
the bucket extensions 16, 18 are pivoted to be in front of the main
bucket 12. The open front of the main bucket 12 faces the open
front of the bucket extensions. This closed position is used during
transporting the front loader to the place where it is to be used.
The overall width of the front loader is within the limits allowed
for transport on the highways. When the front loader arrives to
where it is to be used, such as the parking lot to be plowed, the
left side bucket extension 16 and right side bucket extension 18
are pivoted about the hinges 22 to their respective open positions
such as seen in FIG. 1. Now the open front of the main bucket 12
faces in the same forward direction as the open fronts of the
bucket extensions 16, 18. The locking tubes 46, 46 and 50 are
aligned and the locking pin 52 is slid into the aligned locking
tubes to lock the extension buckets 16, 18 in the open position.
The front loader is then ready for use. When the plowing job is
completed, the procedure is reversed and the extension buckets 16,
18 are pivoted back to the closed position.
[0026] Thus there has been provided extension buckets that
pivotally attach to the main bucket on a front loader to extend the
operational width of the bucket on a front loader that fully
satisfies the objects and advantages set forth above. While the
invention has been described in conjunction with a specific
embodiment, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and
variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of
the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace
all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within
the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *