Excavation bucket incorporating an impact actuator assembly

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6460276
  • Patent Number
    6,460,276
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, March 18, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, October 8, 2002
    21 years ago
Abstract
An excavation bucket incorporating an impact actuator assembly including a bucket body, a movable floor portion and an impact actuator provided between and mounted to the bucket body and the movable floor portion is described herein. The movable floor portion is longitudinally movable in the bucket body. When activated, the impact actuator assembly generates longitudinal impacts onto the movable floor portion to cause the repetitive longitudinal movements of the floor portion with respect to the bucket body. A forward edge of the floor portion is provided with tools such as teeth to penetrate hard soils.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to excavation buckets. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with excavation buckets incorporating an impact actuator assembly.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The prior art is replete with configurations of excavating buckets designed to better dig into hard soils.




For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,438 entitled: “Excavating bucket having power driven, individually controlled digging teeth” issued on Dec. 2nd, 1986 to Daniel S. Mozer describes an excavating bucket having a leading edge provided with a row of individually pneumatically driven digging teeth. Each digging tooth is connected to a pneumatic impact hammer that reciprocates the tooth at high speed and with great force.




The excavating bucket described by Mozer has several drawbacks. For example, since pneumatic impact hammers are used the earth working machine to which the excavating bucket is mounted must be provided with an air compressor and adequate supplemental conduits between the air compressor and the bucket. Also, since each tooth is connected to an individual pneumatic impact hammer, the total weight of the excavating bucket is much higher than the weight of a conventional bucket, which is a disadvantage when the arm of the earthmoving machine is fully extended, since conventional earth moving machines are designed to move weights similar to the weight of conventional buckets. Yet another drawback of the excavating bucket of Mozer is that each moving tooth requires a certain amount of clearance to be reciprocately moved and that dirt and water may enter the hollow casing enclosing the pneumatic hammers by each of the tooth to body clearances.




OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION




An object of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved excavating bucket incorporating an impact actuator.




Another object of the invention is to provide an excavating bucket incorporating an impact actuator free of the above mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




More specifically, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided an excavation bucket comprising:




a bucket body including a floor portion having a longitudinal axis and lateral side portions;




a movable floor so mounted to the bucket body as to (a) be longitudinally slidable between a retracted position and an extended position, and (b) provide a free space between the floor portion and the movable floor;




means for selectively slide the movable floor between the retracted and extended positions; the sliding means being mounted in the free space.




Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non restrictive description of preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




In the appended drawings:





FIG. 1

is a side elevational view illustrating an excavating bucket according to an embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a top plan view of the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is an enlarged front elevational view of the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a side sectional view illustrating the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

before a contact with a rock;





FIG. 5

is a side sectional view illustrating the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

after a contact with a rock and before a first impact of the impact actuator;





FIG. 6

is a side sectional view illustrating the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

during a first impact of the impact actuator;





FIG. 7

is a side sectional view illustrating the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

after a first impact and before a second impact of the impact actuator;





FIG. 8

is a side sectional view illustrating the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

during a second impact of the impact actuator;





FIG. 9

is a side sectional view illustrating the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

after a second impact and before a third impact of the impact actuator;





FIG. 10

is a side sectional view illustrating the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

during a third impact of the impact actuator;





FIG. 11

is a side sectional view illustrating the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

after a portion of a rock has been scooped;





FIG. 12

is a side elevational view of the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

provided with a clay cutting attachment;





FIG. 13

is a top plan view of the excavating bucket of

FIG. 11

;





FIG. 14

is a side elevational view of the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

provided with a root shredding attachment





FIG. 15

is a top plan view of the excavating bucket of

FIG. 14

;





FIG. 16

is a side elevational view of the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

provided with a picket ramming attachment;





FIG. 17

is a top plan view of the excavating bucket of

FIG. 16

;





FIG. 18

is a side elevational view of the excavating bucket of

FIG. 1

provided with a compaction attachment; and





FIG. 19

is a top plan view of the excavating bucket of FIG.


18


.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to

FIGS. 1

to


3


of the appended drawings, an excavation bucket


20


according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. The excavation bucket


20


generally includes a bucket body


22


, a longitudinally movable floor


24


and an impact actuator assembly


26


.




The bucket body


22


has a longitudinal axis


23


and includes a floor


28


, a pair of lateral sides


30


,


32


, a rear wall


34


, and a pair of mounting elements


36


,


38


each provided with apertures


40


to which the end of the arm of a conventional earth moving machine (not shown) may be secured. Each lateral side


30


and


32


is provided with a floor guide


31


and


33


, respectively, to prevent unwanted displacement of the movable floor


24


as will be described hereinafter.




The movable floor


24


includes a proximate end


41


and a distal end


43


. The distal end


43


is provided with a leading edge portion


42


. The movable floor


24


also includes a first flat portion


44


, an angled portion


46


, a second flat portion


48


, first and second lateral side walls


50


,


52


(see FIG.


3


), third and fourth flat portions


54


,


56


and a pair of lateral guide abutting elements


55


,


57


. The movable floor


24


is so mounted to the bucket body


22


as to be reciprocately longitudinally slidable between a retracted position (illustrated in

FIG. 1

) and an extended position (shown, for example, in FIG.


5


). The lateral guide abutting elements


55


,


57


are so configured and sized as to be receivable under the floor guides


31


,


33


, respectively, to allow only longitudinal movements of the movable floor


24


.




The configuration and position of the movable floor


24


with respect to the bucket body


22


creates a free space


58


(

FIG. 1

) between the generally inverted U-shaped portion


60


of the movable floor


24


and the floor


28


of the bucket body


22


.




The leading edge portion


42


of the movable floor


24


includes a tool holding assembly


62


provided with three tool receiving apertures


64


,


66


and


68


and with a tool locking mechanism


70


.




The tool receiving apertures are configured and sized to receive generally cylindrical teeth


72


,


74


and


76


each provided with a tangential channel


78


. The tool locking mechanism


70


includes a handle


80


and a cylindrical pivot bar


82


, fixedly mounted to the handle


80


and provided with a longitudinal channel (not shown). The handle may be pivoted between a non locking position where the teeth


72


,


74


and


76


are faced by the longitudinal channel of the pivot bar and a locking position where the cylindrical pivot bar enters the tangential channels


78


of the teeth


72


,


74


and


76


. The longitudinal channel is so configured and sized that the teeth


72


,


74


and


76


may be removed from the tool receiving apertures


64


,


66


and


68


, respectively, when the longitudinal channel faces the teeth.




The movable floor


24


also includes a replaceable impact receiving plate


84


the purpose of which will be described hereinafter.




The leading edge portion


42


includes a lower projection


86


configured and sized to receive a lower projection


88


of the floor


28


to thereby prevent dirt from entering the free space


58


.




The proximate end


41


of the movable floor


24


is secured to the rear wall


34


of the bucket body


22


via a securing assembly


90


. It is to be noted that the securing assembly


90


allows the movable floor


24


to reciprocately slide between its retracted and extended positions.




The securing assembly


90


includes an internal strengthening plate


92


fixedly mounted to the proximate end


41


of the movable floor


24


and having a generally inverted U-shape, four fasteners


94


,


96


,


98


and


100


, a pair of external rigid plates


102


,


104


each provided with respective resilient layers


106


,


108


. The strengthening plate


92


is fixedly mounted to the second flat portion


48


, to the first and second lateral side walls


50


,


52


and to the third and fourth flat portions


54


,


56


of the movable wall


24


.




The fasteners


94


-


100


each go through an aperture (not shown) of the internal strengthening plate


92


, a corresponding aperture (not shown) of the rear portion


34


of the bucket body


22


, and a corresponding aperture (not shown) of one of the external rigid plate


102


,


104


. It is to be noted that the length of the fasteners


94


-


100


is greater than the combined thickness of the elements traversed to therefore allow the movable floor


24


to reciprocately slide between its retracted and extended positions.




The rigid plates


102


,


104


, with their associated layers of resilient material


106


,


108


therefore prevent the movable floor


24


to exceed its extended position. Indeed, the length of the fasteners


94


-


100


is such that the resilient layers


106


,


108


contact the rear wall


34


of the bucket body


22


when the movable floor


24


reaches its extended position.




The excavation bucket


20


also includes a protective cover


110


intended to both protect the proximate end of the movable floor


24


including the securing assembly


90


and to prevent dirt from entering the free space


58


. The protective cover


110


is fixedly mounted to the rear wall


34


and to the lateral walls


30


and


32


of the bucket body


22


and includes a pair of lateral elements


112


,


114


adjacent to the lateral portions


50


,


52


of the movable floor


24


and a top covering element


116


adjacent to the second flat portion


48


of the movable floor


24


. The close proximity of these elements prevent dirt from entering the free space


58


. Furthermore, layers of friction reducing material (not shown) could be provided between the adjacent elements to reduce the distance between these elements while allowing relative movements thereof.




It is to be noted that the protective cover


110


is so configured and sized as to provide a space


118


in which the upper portion of the strengthening plate


92


may move.




The impact actuator assembly


26


includes a cylindrical body


120


, a pressurized gas chamber


121


, an impact head


122


and a hammer


124


slidably mounted in the cylindrical body (see FIG.


4


). The impact head


122


usually rests against the replaceable impact receiving plate


84


and the hammer


124


is usually pushed towards internal abutments


125


by the pressurized gas in the chamber


121


when the impact actuator assembly


26


is in a non operating state.




Friction reducing pads


135


are provided between the cylindrical body


120


and the movable floor


24


to support the floor


24


onto the body


120


without inducing significant friction. For example, Nylon type material could be used to form the pads


135


.




The operation of an impact actuator such as the impact actuator assembly


26


is believed well known in the art and will not be described in details herein. It is however to be noted that since the operation of the impact actuator


26


is similar to conventional impact actuators that are conventionally mounted to the arms of earth moving machines, the fluid conduits


126


,


128


may advantageously be connected to the fluid conduits (not shown) usually provided on earth moving machines for the selective operation of the impact actuator. Accordingly, the impact actuator assembly


26


is advantageously an hydraulic impact actuator. However, a pneumatic impact actuator (not shown) could also be used provided that adequate air supply are present on the earth moving machine. It is also to be noted that the impact actuator assembly


26


could be replace by other assemblies to forcefully move the movable floor


24


with respect to the bucket body


22


, such as, for example, a motor provided with a cam abutting the movable floor


24


.




The fluid conduits


126


,


128


are enclosed by a rectangular cover


130


preventing contact between the tubes and external obstacles.




The cylindrical body


120


of the impact actuator assembly


26


is fixedly mounted to the bucket body


22


via a first wedging element


132


(better seen in

FIG. 4

) provided between the cylindrical body and the rear of the bucket body


22


and a second wedging element


134


(better seen in

FIG. 4

) provided between the cylindrical body


120


and the front of the bucket body


22


.




Turning now to

FIGS. 4-11

of the appended drawings, the operation of the excavating bucket


20


of the present invention will be described. Each of these figures illustrates a general step in the breakage of a rock


200


and in the lifting of a portion of this rock from the ground.




In these figures, the portions of the excavating bucket


20


shown in dashed lines illustrate the initial position of these portions at the beginning of the particular step while these same portions are illustrated in full lines to illustrate their final position at the end of the step. Of course, for clarity purposes, not all the moving portions have been illustrated both in dashed and full lines. It is however believed within the reach of one skilled in the art to determine the initial and final positions of all moving portions of the excavating bucket


20


.





FIG. 4

of the appended drawings illustrates the excavating bucket


20


in its initial position before the teeth


72


,


74


and


76


(only one shown) mounted to the tool holding assembly


62


contact the rock


200


. The movable floor


24


is thus in its extended position since the impact actuator


26


it is in a non operating state as described hereinabove. The resilient layers


106


,


108


(only one shown) therefore contact the rear wall


34


of the bucket body


22


. The hammer


124


is positioned anywhere in the longitudinal actuator body


120


, and the impact head


122


rests against the replaceable impact receiving plate


84


.




Turning now to

FIG. 5

, the teeth


72


,


74


and


76


(only one shown) mounted to the tool holding assembly


62


of the excavating bucket


20


contact the rock


200


. The movable floor


24


is in its retracted position since the arm (not shown) of the earth moving machine pushes the excavation bucket


20


downwardly and since the rock


200


prevent further forward movements of the excavation bucket


20


. The resilient layers


106


,


108


(only one shown) do not contact the rear wall


34


of the bucket body


22


when the movable floor is in the retracted position. The hammer


124


is moved rearwardly in the longitudinal actuator body


120


(see arrow


202


) in preparation for a first impact by the energization of the impact actuator assembly


26


by the operator, and the impact head


122


rests against the replaceable impact receiving plate


84


.





FIG. 6

of the appended drawings illustrates a first impact of the impact actuator assembly


26


. During this impact, the hammer


124


is forcefully moved forwardly in the longitudinal actuator body


120


(see arrow


204


) by the energization of the impact actuator assembly


26


by the operator. The hammer


124


therefore forcefully strikes the impact head


122


that, in turn, forcefully pushes against the replaceable impact receiving plate


84


. Since the impact actuator assembly


26


is fixedly mounted to the bucket body


22


, the impact of the hammer


124


onto the impact head


122


will cause the movable floor to forcefully move forward (see arrow


206


) to reach a partially extended position. A portion of the energy of the hammer


124


will therefore be transferred to the rock


200


in an attempt to break it.





FIG. 7

illustrates the impact actuator assembly


26


in its preparation for a second impact of the hammer


124


onto the impact head


122


. The hammer


124


is therefore moved rearwardly (see arrow


208


). Since the arm (not shown) of the earth moving machine continually pushes downwardly in a scooping operation, the bucket body


22


will be pushed forwardly (see arrow


210


) until the moving floor


24


is returned to its retracted position.

FIG. 7

is therefore very similar to

FIG. 5

but with the teeth


72


,


74


and


76


slightly penetrating the rock


200


.




It is to be noted that, depending on the hardness of the rock


200


, it may take many impacts of the hammer


124


onto the impact head


122


before the rock


200


is fractured as shown in FIG.


7


.





FIG. 8

illustrates a second impact of the hammer


124


onto the impact head


122


. As before, the hammer


124


is forcefully moved forwardly (see arrow


212


) to ultimately cause the forward movement of the movable floor


24


(see arrow


214


). This figure also illustrates the rock


200


separated in two portions


216


and


218


. It is however to be noted that it is unlikely that a rock


200


would break with only two impacts. It is also to be noted that conventional impact actuator assemblies usually have a frequency of impacts of about


15


impacts every second.





FIG. 9

illustrates the portion


216


of the rock


200


being scooped by the bucket body


22


.




To illustrate what can happen when the operator keeps the impact actuator assembly


26


energized when it is not required,

FIG. 9

also shows the rearward movement of the hammer


124


(see arrow


220


) in preparation for a third impact onto the impact head


122


. It is to be noted that this impact is not required since the rock


200


is already broken in two.





FIG. 10

illustrates the unnecessary impact between the hammer


124


and the impact head


122


. Since the teeth


72


,


74


and


76


(only one shown) do not contact a hard surface, the movable floor


24


is forcefully moved from its retracted position to its extended position. The securing assembly


90


prevents the disconnection of the movable floor


24


from the bucket body


22


. Indeed, the resilient layers


106


,


108


are compressed between the external rigid plates


102


,


104


and the rear wall


34


of the bucket body


22


to thereby prevent significant further forward movements of the movable floor


24


. The resilient layers


106


and


108


therefore reduce the wear of the excavating bucket


20


by damping the impacts of the hammer


124


when the movable floor


24


is fully extended. It is to be noted that, under the force of the impact between the hammer


124


and the impact head


122


, the impact head


122


may continue to move forwardly (not shown in

FIG. 10

) even though the hammer


124


rests against the abutments


125


.




Finally,

FIG. 11

illustrates the final position of the excavating bucket


20


having scooped the portion


216


of the rock


200


. The movable floor


24


is returned to its retracted position by the movements (not shown) of the bucket body


22


required to scoop the rock


216


.




It is to be noted that, as will be easily understood by one skilled in the art, the movements of the hammer


124


into the actuator body


120


are not independently controlled by the operator of the earth moving machine. Indeed, the impact actuator assembly


26


, when energized, takes control of the movements of the hammer


124


. Therefore, the operator simply has to decide when the impact actuator assembly


26


should be used to more easily scoop the intended material.





FIGS. 12 and 13

of the appended drawings illustrate the excavation bucket


20


to which a clay cutting attachment


300


has been fitted. The clay cutting attachment


300


includes three mounting rods


302


,


304


and


306


configured sized and positioned to enter the three tool receiving apertures


64


,


66


and


68


of the tool holding assembly


62


. Each mounting rod is provided with a tangential channel


78


enabling the rods to be locked in position by the tool locking mechanism


70


as described hereinabove with respect to the teeth


72


,


74


and


76


. The edge


310


of the clay cutting attachment


300


is sufficiently sharp to easily cut through clay.




Turning now to

FIGS. 14 and 15

, a root shredding attachment


400


will be described. The root shredding attachment


400


includes three mounting rods


402


,


404


and


406


configured sized and positioned to enter the three tool receiving apertures


64


,


66


and


68


of the tool holding assembly


62


. Again, each mounting rod is provided with a tangential channel


78


enabling the rods to be locked in position by the tool locking mechanism


70


. The root shredding attachment


400


includes a serrated central blade


408


and a pair of lateral serrated blades


410


,


412


.





FIGS. 16 and 17

illustrate a picket ramming attachment


500


including three mounting rods


502


,


504


and


506


configured sized and positioned to enter the three tool receiving apertures


64


,


66


and


68


of the tool holding assembly


62


. Again, each mounting rod is provided with a tangential channel


78


enabling the rods to be locked in position by the tool locking mechanism


70


. The picket ramming attachment


500


includes a cylindrical picket holder


508


that may be pivoted about a pivot attachment


510


. A picket to be rammed (not shown) is inserted in the picket holder


508


and the impact actuator assembly


26


is energized to help ramming the picket in the ground.




Finally,

FIGS. 18 and 19

illustrate a compaction attachment


600


including three mounting rods


602


,


604


and


606


configured sized and positioned to enter the three tool receiving apertures


64


,


66


and


68


of the tool holding assembly


62


. Again, each mounting rod is provided with a tangential channel


78


enabling the rods to be locked in position by the tool locking mechanism


70


. The compaction attachment


600


includes a flat compaction head


608


that may be pivoted about a pivot attachment


610


.




Another advantage of the movable floor


24


is the possibility to disengage soil that has been packed in the bucket body


22


. Indeed, instead of repetitively moving the bucket body


22


up and down to dislodge the packet soil from inside the bucket body, the user may energize the impact actuator assembly


26


to both move the movable floor


24


and vibrate the entire excavation bucket


20


to dislodge the soil.




It is to be noted that the energization of the impact actuator assembly


26


could be done automatically when the leading edge


42


of the movable floor


24


contacts a hard surface. For example, the wedging element


132


could be replaced by a compressible element (not shown) and a pressure sensor (not shown) could be associated with this compressible element to detect its compression caused by the movements of the impact actuator assembly


26


. The output of this sensor would be used to selectively energize the impact actuator assembly


26


when the pressure detected is above a predetermined level. Another way of achieving the same result would be to provide a displacement sensor (not shown) detecting the displacement of the movable floor


24


with respect to the bucket body


22


. Again, the output of this sensor would be used to selectively energize the impact actuator assembly


26


when the displacement detected is above a predetermined level.




It is also to be noted that the replaceable impact receiving plate


84


is provided to prevent premature wear of the movable floor


24


and may be replaced if deteriorated by the repetitive impacts of the impact head


122


.




Although the present invention has been described hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof, it can be modified, without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention as defined in the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. An excavation bucket comprising:a bucket body including a floor portion having a longitudinal axis and lateral side portions, said longitudinal axis extending substantially parallel to said lateral side portions; a movable floor so mounted to said bucket body as to (a) be longitudinally slidable between a retracted position and an extended position, (b) provide a free space between said floor portion and said movable floor and (c) form a scoop cavity with said lateral side portions; means for selectively sliding said movable floor between said retracted and extended positions; said sliding means being mounted in said free space.
  • 2. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 1, wherein said sliding means is fixedly mounted to said bucket body and associated with said movable floor.
  • 3. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 1, wherein said sliding means includes an impact actuator.
  • 4. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 3, wherein said impact actuator includes:a longitudinal actuator body fixedly mounted to said bucket body; said actuator body being generally tubular and provided with an open end; an impact head having a proximate end slidably mounted to said open end of said tubular body and a distal end contacting said movable floor; a hammer slidably mounted in said tubular actuator body for reciprocal longitudinal movements between impact position where it contacts said proximate end of said impact head and non impact position; wherein said contact between said hammer and said proximate end of said impact head when said hammer is moved from said non impact position to said impact position cause said impact head to be forcefully and longitudinally moved towards said movable floor to thereby cause the movable floor to be longitudinally and outwardly moved from its retracted position towards its extended position.
  • 5. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 1, wherein said movable floor includes means for preventing said extended position to be exceeded.
  • 6. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 5, wherein said preventing means including means for securing said movable floor to said bucket body while allowing said movable floor to slide between said retracted and extended positions.
  • 7. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 6, wherein said bucket body includes a rear portion said securing means being provided between said movable floor and said rear portion of said bucket body.
  • 8. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 7, wherein said securing means include (a) at least one fastener connected to said movable floor and going through an aperture of said rear portion of said bucket body; a rigid plate traversed by said fastener so that said rear portion of said bucket body is positioned between said movable floor and said rigid plate.
  • 9. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 8, wherein said preventing means further include a resilient layer provided between said rigid plate and said rear portion of said bucket body, wherein said at least one fastener, said rigid plate and resilient layer prevent said extended position to be exceeded.
  • 10. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 1, wherein said movable floor includes a leading edge portion provided with a tool holding assembly.
  • 11. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 10, wherein said tool holding assembly includes at least one tool receiving longitudinal aperture and one tool locking mechanism allowing tools inserted in said at least one tool receiving aperture to be releasably maintained therein.
  • 12. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 11, wherein said tool holding assembly includes three tool receiving longitudinal apertures.
  • 13. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 12, wherein said tool locking mechanism includes a handle and a cylindrical pivot bar fixedly mounted to said handle; said pivot bar being laterally mounted to said tool holding assembly for pivotable movements between a non locking position and a locking position; said pivot bar including a longitudinal channel facing tangential channels of the tools inserted in the receiving apertures when said pivot bar is in said non locking position.
  • 14. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 12, further comprising three teeth releasably mounted to a respective tool receiving aperture.
  • 15. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 11, further comprising a clay cutting attachment releasably inserted in said at least one tool receiving aperture.
  • 16. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 11, further comprising a root shredding attachment releasably inserted in said at least one tool receiving aperture.
  • 17. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 11, further comprising a picket ramming attachment releasably inserted in said at least one tool receiving aperture.
  • 18. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 11, further comprising a compaction attachment releasably inserted in said at least one tool receiving aperture.
  • 19. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 10, wherein said leading edge portion has a generally tapering cross-section.
  • 20. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 1, further comprising sealing means provided between said movable floor and said bucket body generally preventing dirt from entering said free space.
  • 21. The excavation bucket as recited in claim 1, wherein said lateral side portions of said bucket body includes internal lateral guides allowing longitudinal movements of said movable floor and preventing other movements of said movable floor.
Parent Case Info

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/026,274, filed Sep. 18, 1996.

PCT Information
Filing Document Filing Date Country Kind
PCT/CA97/00686 WO 00
Publishing Document Publishing Date Country Kind
WO98/12389 3/26/1998 WO A
US Referenced Citations (18)
Number Name Date Kind
3113390 Pewthers Dec 1963 A
3512284 Haynes May 1970 A
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Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60/026274 Sep 1996 US