Patent Application
20150135561
Ski-like devices have been used to prevent ground damage, such as skids on a snow blower or snowplow. See for example, USPGP 2011/0315465 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,899,472 and 2,884,720. These references, however, disclose replaceable attachments for a dedicated snow blower or snowplow.
It would be desirable, for those who have a tractor or the like, to be able to use a front loader bucket (hereafter “bucket”) to move material piled above the ground, including pavement typically constructed from concrete or cement to build a road or driveway, without damaging the ground. In this respect, USPGP 2006/0288617 (Colclough) discloses attachments for a loader bucket for moving snow and the problems associated with plowing snow with a bucket attached to a tractor, namely the bucket's cutting edge damaging the ground. In the Colclough reference, a plurality of bolt-on bucket-glide attachments can be bolted on the front side of the loader bucket.
There still remains a need for a device that can convert the loader bucket for multiple uses, including material on the ground, such as snow, and moving long objects, as some examples. The present development addresses this need.
One aspect of the present development is a skid device for a bucket having a stepped underside forming a lip portion extending across the width thereof at a rearward position from a front edge of the bucket.
The skid device can have a base member having an upper side and an lower side, a mount bracket attached to the upper side, a retainer member attached to the mount bracket, and a fastener device configured to secure the mount bracket to the bucket and function as a primary securing device.
The base member is configured to prevent the front edge portion of the bucket from contacting a ground surface. Specifically, the base member can have a leading end section, a middle section, and a trailing end section. Both the leading end section and the trailing end section can be angled relative to the middle section, which is substantially parallel to the underside of the front edge portion of the bucket upon securing the skid device to the bucket.
The skid device can further include a wear member attached to the lower side of the base member. Moreover, the wear member can be replaceably mounted to the base member. The wear plate can be configured complementary to the configuration of the base member to cover the leading end section, the middle section, and the trailing end section.
The mount bracket is configured to be mounted to a front edge portion of the bucket, with the retainer member and part of the base member positioned underneath the front edge portion of the bucket. Specifically, the mount bracket can have a base portion, an angled portion, and a leveled end portion. The base portion can be secured to the upper side of the middle section of the base member. The angled portion can extend rearwardly from a front side of the base portion at an angle. The leveled end portion can extend rearwardly from a rear side of the angled portion and parallel to the base portion. More specifically, the mount bracket can have a J-shape or fish-hook configuration.
The retainer member is configured to engage the lip portion when the fastener becomes loose and function as a secondary securing device, and also rattle against the underside and the lip portion of the bucket when the fastener becomes loose and function as an audio alarm. Specifically, the retainer member can be removably attached to a rear side of the base portion of the mount bracket. Both the retainer member and the base portion of the mount bracket can contact the underside of the bucket and serve as pressure points.
The skid device can further include an auxiliary member and the skid device can further include a reinforcement member attached to the angled portion of the mount bracket and the leading end section of the base member. The auxiliary member is removably attachable to a front portion of the reinforcement member. Specifically, one end of the auxiliary member can have a yoke configured to straddle the front portion of the reinforcement member, with a portion of the auxiliary member resting on an upper surface of the leading end portion of the base member.
Another aspect of the present development is a bucket assembly for moving material. The bucket assembly comprises the bucket having a stepped underside forming a lip portion extending across the width thereof at a rearward position from a front edge of the bucket, and at least a pair of the skid devices described above mountable or assembled to the bucket.
The bucket assembly can have a pair of the auxiliary members described above, each connectable to one of the skid devices. One of the skid devices can be mounted to the right side of the bucket and the other of the skid devices can be mounted to the left side of the bucket. The pair of auxiliary members can be configured to allow the bucket assembly to hold elongated objects that are wider than the bucket.
Another aspect of the present development is a method of forming the skid device. The method includes a first bending step, a second bending step, and a securing step. The first bending step bends a single steel plate, at a predetermined distance from one end thereof, over onto itself by about a first predetermined degree to form the angled portion, which is angled relative to the base portion that extends from the one end to the angled portion. The second bending step bends the single steel plate, at a predetermined distance from the other end thereof to form the leveled portion that is substantially parallel to the base portion. In other words, in the second step, the leveled portion is bent until it becomes substantially parallel to the base portion. The securing step secures the base portion to the upper side of the base member.
The present development can be applied to moving materials, such as snow, mulch, or dirt on grass, cut wood, or any similar material, with a tractor, skid-loader, or other machine that has a loader, particularly where the preservation of the underlying surface is a priority. For example, leaving the stones in a driveway when pushing snow, not damaging the grass when lifting a pile of mulch or cut wood, or avoiding damage to expansion joints on a concrete surface when clearing off dirt or snow can be achieved with the present development. Moreover, the present development can be used to lift and carry narrow items longer than the width of the bucket, such as wooden logs or posts.
The present development combines the versatility of the bucket with additional functionalities that are also economical, namely the ability to move materials with reduced risk of having the leading edge disturb the ground surface, all the while not requiring modifications to the bucket itself (i.e., maintaining the bucket itself intact). While there exists examples of quick attach pallet forks used for lifting and carrying pallet-sized objects, they can be expensive due to the required strength and length associated with lifting these loads. The present development combines an economical and convenient way moving material without ground disturbance with a simple and inexpensive way of carrying small loads that are wider than the tractor bucket.
The present drawings illustrate a skid device 20 (or EDGE TAMER coined by the present inventors) and a bucket assembly 30 comprising a bucket 10 and the skid device 20.
The bucket 10 can be any conventional or commercial bucket that is typically associated with tractors or heavy equipment machines. The bucket is typically configured to have an inner volume sufficient to hold loose materials, such as dirt, sand, rocks, and even snow. Specifically, referring to
Referring to
The skid device 20 comprises a base member 1, a wear member 2, a mount bracket 3, a reinforcement member 4, a fastener device 5, 8, and a retainer member 6. An extension bar 7 can be attached to the skid device 20 as an auxiliary member.
Referring to
The base member can be made from steel, namely a single steel plate, such as ⅜″ thick stainless steel. The size of the base member 1 can vary according to the size of the bucket to be used. As an example, the base member 1 can be approximately 12″ long and 3″ wide, with both the leading end section 1a and the trailing end section 1c angled up or bent at about 20 degrees, similar to the way ski tips are raised. The above example length refers to the length before the leading and trailing end sections are angled/bent upwardly.
The wear member 2, which can be replaceable, is configured the same as (complementary to) the base member 1 and secured to the base member 1 by any conventional means, such as with screws. Alternatively, the bottom of the base member 1 can have dove-tail recesses or protrusions or the like and the upper surface of the wear member 2 can have complementary dove-tail protrusions or recesses to allow the wear member to be installed to the base member by sliding it sideways and held with an interference fit. Screws also can be used to retain the wear member from sliding sideways.
The wear member 2 can be any number of materials conventionally used for such purpose, such as ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWE) or polytetrafluoroethylene (PPTFE or otherwise known as TEFLON). The wear member can be cut and form-fitted to the same shape and dimensions as the base member 1. In this respect, the wear member also can be configured to cover both lateral side edges of the base member, along the full length, for added protection.
The wear member allows the bucket to glide over sensitive surfaces, such as grass or pavement, to prevent potential staining of concrete or paved surface due to paint or rust rubbing off the bottom of the base member.
In the illustrated embodiment (see
The mount bracket 3 holds the fastener device 5, 8 for securing the skid device to the bucket 10. Specifically, the mount bracket 3 can include a base portion 3a, an angled portion 3b, and a leveled end portion 3c. The base portion 3a is secured to the upper side of the base member 1, namely on the upper side of the middle section 1b. The leveled end portion 3c can be parallel to the base portion 3a. For example, the mount bracket can be formed from a single steel plate, such as ⅜″ thick steel plate, approximately 2″ wide and 12.75″ long, by bending (folding) about 150 degrees over onto itself at 6.5″ from one end, and bending about another 30 degrees at 10.75″ (or about 2″ from the other end), so that the leveled end portion 3c (the final 2″ portion) is made parallel to the base portion 3a (the 6.5″ portion). This bent-over configuration is to complement the shape of the front side portion of the bucket 10. Accordingly, depending on the front side configuration of the bucket, the mount bracket can be configured differently to receive the front edge portion of the bucket. The illustrated mount bracket 3 can be described as a J-shaped or fish-hook-shaped mount shoe.
The fastener device can include a fastener 5, such as a bolt, and a fastener receiving member 8, such as a nut. The leveled end portion 3c can have a hole, such as ½″ hole to receive a fastener receiving member 8 for holding the fastener 5. The hole can be threaded to receive the fastener 5 directly or, as illustrated, receive the fastener receiving member 8, which can be secured by welding to the leveled end portion 3c while aligned with the hole, to enable the fastener 5 to be tightened against the bucket to secure the skid device to the bucket. The fastener device 5, 8 serves as a primary securing device to secure the skid device to the bucket.
The entire base portion 3a can be welded to the middle section 1b (i.e., flat portion) of the base member 1 extending between the sloped ends, with the folded side situated toward the leading end (front) side of the base member 1.
Both the retainer member 6 and the base portion 3a can be configured to abut against the bottom side of the bucket for added security when the bolt is tightened. The retainer member 6, in addition to the base portion, serves as an additional pressure point against the bottom of the bucket when the bolt 5 is tightened down against the bucket from the opposite side. Should the fastener 8 become loose, the retainer member 6 also serves as a retainer for retaining the skid device. That is, the retainer member 6 would abut against the bucket's lip portion 10f and prevent the skid device 20 from falling off the bucket. See
The retainer member can be held by screws to allow for replacement with different retainer members having different heights to accommodate for differently configured bottom portion 10a of the buckets. That is, the height of the retainer member can be adjusted to allow both the retainer member 6 and the base portion 3a to contact the underside of the bottom portion 10a of the bucket and serve as pressure points (areas). The retainer member even can be spring loaded so that it is movable vertically relative to the base portion 3a, while still being loosely held to the base portion 3a, and create additional rattling noise when the bolt 8 becomes loose. Tightening the bolt 8 would press the retainer member toward the base portion 3a and secure it between the underside of the bottom portion of the bucket arid the upper side of the base portion 3a. For instance, the retainer member 6 can have a pair of holes each with a larger countersink having a sufficient depth. The retainer member can be guided with vertical rods extending through the holes, with springs placed between the retainer member 6 and the base portion 3a. Screws can be used to secure the vertical rods to the base portion 3a, while loosely securing the retainer member to allow for vertical displacement (e.g., oscillation) of the retainer member relative to the base portion 3a using the spring force and gravity.
The reinforcement member 4 reinforces the mount bracket 3. The reinforcement member can be formed of, for instance, at least one steel gusset, such as a ⅜″ thick steel plate, configured to the shape filling the gap from the outside of the angled portion 3b and the angled leading end of the base member 1. This member 4 not only strengthens the skid device, it prevents excessive tightening of the fastener 5 from permanently bending the bent portion 3b. The reinforcement member 4 can be welded to both the mounting bracket and the base member at its front angled section 1b. The reinforcement member can be a pair of parallel members with cross-brace members for strengthening purposes.
At least a pair of removable auxiliary members 7 can be mounted to a pair of skid devices mounted to either sides of the bucket. The auxiliary members can serve as supports for large items that are longer than the width of the bucket.
For example, each auxiliary member 7 can be formed of steel, such as a bar having 12″ long and 1″ square. The auxiliary member can be connected via a bolt, or the like, extending through a hole formed in the reinforcement member and secured with a nut. In this respect, one end 7a of each of the auxiliary member each can have a yoke configuration that can straddle the respective reinforcement member 4. The yoke has a hole on each arm portion to permit insertion of a fastener, such as a bolt or the like. For added strength, the auxiliary members each rest on the upper surface of the angled leading end portion of the base member 1. Although the drawings illustrate the auxiliary members in a form of a bar, they need not be bar shaped. They can have any desired configuration to suit the purpose of carrying long objects.
The present development enables use of a tractor bucket to move snow, mulch, and other such materials with less disturbance of the underlying ground surface. For example, the movement of snow on a gravel driveway or the lifting of mulch or cut wood off a lawn can be achieved with the present development. Since a bucket loader has a long, flat leading edge, in operation the edge can quite easily cut into the underlying ground when trying to lift or move material. This can result in a damaged lawn, or stones being moved off the driveway while clearing snow. The present development, which has a ski-like ends, is simple to attach, without needing to modify the bucket, with a tightening of a bolt, and can feature a removable wear member for improved gliding. Moreover, due to the reinforcement member 4, the mount bracket is designed to not permanently bend during tightening.
In use, at least two skid devices would be mounted to the bucket by sliding them over the leading edge of the bucket, and by tightening each bolt so that pressure is applied against the bucket, which drives the trailing end of the base member up into the underside of the bucket, thereby locking the skid device into place. See
Two or more auxiliary member 7 can be attached two or more skid devices to carry items that are wider than the bucket and therefore cannot be carried inside the bucket, such as steel or wooden posts or logs longer than the width of the bucket.
Given the present disclosure, one versed in the art would appreciate that there may be other embodiments and modifications within the scope and spirit of the present development. Accordingly, all modifications attainable by one versed in the art from the present disclosure within the scope and spirit of the present development are to be included as further embodiments of the present development. The scope of the present invention accordingly is to be defined as set forth in the appended claims.
