Bucket Glides
A ski shaped glide of hardened steel, two or more of which can be attached to the bottom of a bucket on a front-end loader when the bucket is used for plowing snow with the lift hydraulics in float position. The glide specifically referred to as a bucket-glide, significantly and effectively prevent the bucket cutting edge from digging into the road or ground surface when plowing, especially when the ground surface is soft or uneven. To accomplish this objective the bucket-glides are attached to the underside the bucket bottom typically with one in the middle and one near each outside edge with the glide's toes extending upward just beyond the bucket's cutting edge. The acute angle bend of the toes allow the bucket to be tilted downward to enable the bucket cutting edge to effectively engage the snow and enable the bucket to glide over and follow the terrain without having the cutting edge dig in and remove unwanted material. The invention allows the operator to adjust the bucket tilt angle to accommodate for most ground conditions. When plowing snow on soft, unfrozen ground a slight bucket tilt angle allows more of the bucket-glide's surface area to make ground contact and therefore provides more bucket support, preventing the cutting edge from digging in. As the operator increases the bucket tilt angle it progressively reduces the bucket-glide's surface area contact with the ground and support of the bucket resulting in more of the bucket's weight being transferred to the bucket's cutting edge. This reduced bucket support is useful because it allows the cutting edge to aggressively scrape hard surfaces like pavement or frozen ground while still maintaining ground clearance. Bucket glides are attached with a bolt or clamp.
This invention relates to the plowing of snow with a tractor or any other machine equipped with a front-end loader and bucket. More specifically the present invention relates to a ski shaped device called a “bucket-glide” that when two or more are attached to the bottom of the bucket the many problems encountered when plowing snow become greatly reduced.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ARTThe use of devices that maintain ground clearance and provide support on snow removal equipment are well known. For example snowplows use wear shoes, snow blowers use skids and others even use rollers. More particularly, however, an example of a simple support/ground clearance device that can be attached to a bucket on a front-end loader for plowing snow appears to be absent from the prior art. Commonly, the plowing of snow with a bucket attached to a front-end loader on a tractor is tedious work and requires operator expertise. Typically, using a bucket to plow snow has not been efficient because the cutting edge of the bucket is difficult for the operator to see in relation to the ground surface. Because of this problem the bucket frequently digs in and removes pavement, dirt, grass and other unwanted material along with the snow. One common option available has been to remove the bucket from the front-end loader and replace it with an expensive snowplow type attachment. The present invention seeks to eliminate these problems. The present invention makes the plowing of snow with a bucket easy, efficient, and economical. At the same time the present invention allows the operator to retain the utility of his bucket for scooping and dumping the snow after plowing it.
The following United States patents have been issued that relate to the present invention:
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- 1) U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,175 issued to Atkinson, Jul. 7,1992, discloses a swivel design wear shoe that is mounted to the bottom of a snowplow. It will tilt and rotate on the swivel to maintain the wear surface of the shoe in facing relation to the road surface.
- 2) U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,169 issued to Aubichon, Jul. 14, 1992, discloses an attachment to increase the efficiency of snow removal of vehicles equipped with a bucket. The attachment is secured by hooks and can be remove by pivotal movements of the bucket.
- 3) U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,018 issued to O'Brien, Jan. 21, 2003, discloses rollers that can be attached to the bottom edge of a snow blower. The rollers maintain ground clearance and keep the blower from contacting the ground.
4) U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,890 issued to Bateman, Jr. Jun. 10, 2003, discloses a combination snowplow and bucket for plowing, scooping and removing snow. A wear plate can be affixed to the underside.
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- 5) U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,157 issued to Ferreira, Mar. 18, 1997, discloses a wear pad for use on large machines made of molded pieces of rubber or some other material that does not wear easily. The wear pads bolt to the bottom of a bucket attached to a front-end loader and are specifically designed to protect the road surface from damage from the bucket.
- 6) U.S. Pat. No. 50,125,990 issued to De Clair et. al. May 7, 1991, discloses a protective pad assembly, comprised of elongated rubber, for a loader bucket that is attached to a backhoe. The pad assembly is designed to protect the cutting edge of the bucket from marring/scraping the surface while the backhoe is in use.
If the ground surface is not smooth, flat and hard, similar to new blacktop, efficient plowing of snow with a bucket on a front-end loader is very difficult and requires operator expertise. Without constant bucket angle and height adjustment even the best operator will experience the bucket either digging in or floating up over the snow like a toboggan leaving a packed layer of snow behind. Bucket-glides minimize the problems of the bucket's cutting edge catching on the ground or “floating” upwards over the snow, therefore greatly reducing the need for the operator to constantly adjust the height and angle of the bucket. Bucket-glides, specifically designed to be used with the lift hydraulics in float position, make the plowing of snow using a front-end loader efficient and easy even for the operator with limited experience. Most importantly they offer the owner, at a fraction of the cost of an expensive snowplow attachment, the ability to plow yet retain the utility of his bucket.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Bucket-glides are designed to greatly reduce and in some cases eliminate the problems encountered when plowing snow with a bucket 9 attached to a front-end loader with the lift hydraulics in float position. In the past the operator has had to constantly adjust the tilt angle of the bucket 9 to prevent the problem of the cutting edge 7 from digging in and removing unwanted material especially when the ground conditions under the snow were soft and/or uneven. If the bucket 9 had even the slightest downward tilt angle this problem was unavoidable because the exact location of the cutting edge 7 was difficult for the operator to see. When the operator would attempt to correct the “digging in” problem by reducing the tilt angle, the bucket 9 would then tend to “toboggan” upwards and over the snow, leaving behind and packing down what was to be removed. Bucket-glides make plowing with a bucket easy and efficient. They allow the operator to retain the utility of his bucket 9, and furthermore provide a much more economical choice for plowing snow with a front-end loader than an expensive snowplow attachment.
Bucket-glides are basically a small “ski” made of hardened steel similar to AR Plate 400 F, excluding bolts and nuts. They are designed to be attached to the bottom 8 of the bucket 9 on a front-end loader to be used for the plowing of snow with the lift hydraulics on the loader in float position. When two or three bucket-glides (see
Bucket-glides have two different attachment designs.
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Claims
1. A bucket-glide that has the shape of a small ski for attaching to the bottom of a bucket on a front-end loader to be used for the plowing of snow extending beyond the cutting edge of said bucket and under said bucket to prevent said cutting edge from contacting the ground surface or pavement while plowing thus preventing it from disturbing or removing unwanted material, said bucket-glide comprising a single flat rectangular section of hardened steel forming a base, containing a curving upward bend at one end forming a toe wherein the beginning of said bend defines the separation of said base and said toe, wherein said base is drilled with holes and countersunk on the bottom of said base to accommodate the securing of said bucket-glide to said bucket with a single plow bolt, lock washer and nut.
2. The bucket-glide of claim 1 wherein said bend is an acute angle.
3. The bucket-glide of claim 1 wherein said steel is equal to or greater than ⅜ inches thick.
4. The bucket-glide of claim 1 wherein said holes are drilled at distances from the beginning of said bend along the centerline of said base at intervals that will align with those drilled in the bottom of said bucket according to the variations of industry standards.
5. A bucket-glide for attaching to the bottom of a bucket on a front-end loader that has the shape of a modified ski to be used for the plowing of snow extending beyond the cutting edge of said bucket and under said bucket to prevent said cutting edge from contacting the ground surface or pavement while plowing thus preventing it from disturbing or removing unwanted material, the said bucket-glide comprising a singular flat rectangular section of hardened steel forming a base wherein containing a curving upward bend at one end forming a toe, wherein the beginning of said bend defines the separation between said base and said toe, a hold down plate comprised of a flat rectangular section of said steel, the same width as said base and said toe, one end of which is welded to the back of said toe at a particular vertical distance away from the top of said base and extends rearward directly over and parallel to said base, a gusset comprised of a flat rectangular section of said steel is welded from the bottom of said hold down plate downward to the beginning of and along the full width of said toe along the said line of bend, the width of said gusset closely defining the parallel distance separating said base from said hold down plate, said hold down plate contains one hole that is drilled at a particular location and threaded to accept a single bolt which can then be turned firmly downward to contact the top of the bottom of said bucket creating the static friction force necessary to hold said bucket-glide to said bucket.
6. The bucket-glide of claim 5 wherein said steel is equal to or greater than ⅜ inches thick.
7. The bucket-glide of claim 5 wherein said bend is an acute angle.
8. The bucket glide of claim 5 wherein said hole is drilled on a centerline along the length of said hold down plate.
9. The bucket-glide of claim 5 wherein said hole is drilled at a distance away from said toe to allow said bolt to securely contact the bottom of said bucket accommodating for various industry bucket design standards.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 27, 2005
Publication Date: Dec 28, 2006
Inventor: James Colclough (Hillsdale, NY)
Application Number: 11/160,488
International Classification: E01H 5/04 (20060101);