Trash Rake Attachment for Front End Loaders

Abstract

A tractor having a front end loader has a bucket with tines attached to the underside of the bucket. The front end loader is used to raise/lower and tilt the bucket in a conventional fashion in order to position the tines where they can gather trash by driving the tractor forwardly towards the trash. The trash can be picked up by first tipping the front end of the bucket up, which tips the bottom of the tines up as well. Secondly, the bucket, tines and trash can then be lifted using the front end loader. Thirdly, the tractor can then be driven to a place where the trash is to be dumped and fourthly, the bucket can be tipped so the front end of the bucket and thereby the bottom of the tines are tipped backwardly and upwardly to cause the trash to fall out of the tines.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to devices for collecting trash and more particularly to one that can be used in combination with a tractor with a front end loader.

BACKGROUND

Front end loaders on tractors are useful for many well know purposes. However, when trying to gather up branches from trees that are on the ground from storms, or gathering debris, such as building parts, from tornados or strong winds, front end loaders are difficult to use because the trash/limbs tend to fall out of the bucket portion of such front end loader. So only very small loads of trash are able to be moved using a conventional front end loader for limbs and trash produced from storms or the like.

Teeth attached to the bucket portion of a front end loader to overcome the aforementioned problem are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,189 to Anderson et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 8,069,591 to Dunn, for example, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The Anderson et al. device has teeth on the top of the bucket of a front end loader which does not adequately solve the aforementioned problem. The Dunn device has an extra set of moveable teeth like a grapple which makes it more expensive to manufacture and more complicated to use.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,990,758 to Holmes et al., which is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, shows teeth attached to the bottom of an excavator bucket for a similar purpose. But having the teeth on the bottom of an excavator bucket requires movement of the excavator bucket using articulated arms which make the process slow.

Accordingly, an attachment to a bucket of a front end loader which is inexpensive to make and easy to use is needed for efficiently gathering trash.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above needs are at least partially met through provision of the method and apparatus described in the following detailed description, particularly when studied in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bucket portion of a front end loader having a rake tine apparatus attached to the bottom of the bucket;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the bale processor of the present invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the present invention showing a utility tractor with a front end loader having the tine apparatus attached thereto and shown with the tractor moving forwardly gathering up trash in the tine apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a is a side elevational view of the present invention like in FIG. 3, but showing the bucket of the front end loader being elevated and tipped rearwardly by hydraulic cylinders attached to the tractor to cause the trash in the tine apparatus to be held in a position so the tractor can be driven to a place where the trash is to be dumped without the trash falling out of the tine apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the present invention like in FIG. 4, but showing the tractor being stopped at the place where trash is to be dumped onto the ground and with the front end loader being lowered and the bucket tipped forwardly so that the trash falls out of the tine apparatus onto the ground; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the present invention like in FIG. 4, but showing the tractor being stopped at the place where trash is to be dumped onto a trailer and with the front end loader being still in a raised position but with the bucket tipped forwardly so that the trash falls out of the tine apparatus onto the bed of a trailer.

Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals indicate identical or similar parts throughout the several views, FIGS. 1-6 show a trash gathering and moving apparatus 10 constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.

The trash rake apparatus 10 includes a tractor 11 having a front end loader apparatus 12 attached thereto. The front end loader 12 shown in FIGS. 1-6 includes a bucket 13 pivotally attached at pivot 14a to an arm 14, which is in turn pivotally attached at pivot 14b to another arm 16 which is pivotally attached to the tractor 11 at member 11a, which is rigidly attached to the tractor 11 frame.

A first hydraulic cylinder 15 is pivotally attached at one end at pivot 15a to the top of the bucket 13 and at the other end at pivot 15b thereof to the arm 16. The arm 16 is pivotally attached to member 11a at pivot 16a. A second hydraulic cylinder 17 is pivotally attached at pivot 17a at one end to the arm 16 and at pivot 17b/14b, the other end thereof being pivotally attached to the tractor 11 at pivot 17a. This can be a typical arrangement for attachment of front end loaders to tractors but it will be understood to those skilled in this art that other attachments of front end loaders to tractors are possible and those other arrangements are intended to be covered within the scope of the appended claims.

A tine apparatus 20 is attached to the bottom of the bucket 13 as shown in FIGS. 1-6. FIGS. 1 and 2 show that each tine is attached at the top thereof to a bracket 22 that is rigidly bolted to the bottom of the bucket 3 by nut and bolt fasteners, though the bracket 22 could be fastened in other ways to the bucket 13 or the tines 21 could be attached in other ways to the bottom of the bucket 13. The tines 21 are preferably made of spring steel so they will bend rearwardly when the tractor 11 is moving forward and the bottom tips of the tines 21 are scraping along the ground as shown in FIG. 3, but the tines 21 will return to their original shape shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 once such forces are no longer present on the tines 21.

In operation, the apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 3 shows the tractor moving forwardly gathering up trash 18 on the ground in the tine apparatus as the tines 21 scrape along the top of the ground. Once the trash 18 has been gathered into the tine apparatus 20, the front end loader 12 is raised using hydraulic cylinder 17 to the FIG. 4 position and the bucket 13 is tipped rearwardly using hydraulic cylinder 15 to cause the trash in the tine apparatus to be held in a position so the tractor 11 can be driven to a place where the trash 18 is to be dumped without the trash 18 falling out of the tine apparatus 20.

Then the tractor 11 can be driven to a place where the trash 18 is to be dumped onto the ground as is shown in FIG. 5 whereupon the trash 18 is dumped onto the ground and with the front end loader being lowered using the hydraulic cylinder 16 and the bucket tipped forwardly using the hydraulic cylinder 15 so that the trash falls out of the tine apparatus 20 onto the ground. Alternatively, the tractor 11 could be driven to a trailer 19 as shown in FIG. 6, or to a truck bed, not shown, the tractor being stopped at the place where trash is to be dumped onto the trailer 19, with the front end loader 12 being still in a raised position but with the bucket 13 tipped forwardly so that the trash 18 falls out of the tine apparatus 20 onto the bed of a trailer 19.

It is noted that the rake attachment 20 is wider by the distance “x” than the bucket 13 as shown in the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1, but that it could be the same width as the bucket 13 or narrower than the bucket 13 if desired.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of modifications, alterations, and combinations can be made with respect to the above described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, and combinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventive concept as expressed by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A trash collection apparatus comprising:

a tractor having a frame;

a front end loader operatively attached to the frame and having a bucket;

the bucket having a raised position, a lowered position and elevational positions between the raised and lowered positions; the bucket being operatively pivotally attached to the frame at a lower rear portion of the bucket and having a substantially flat bottom disposed generally in a first plane, the bottom having a top side, a bottom side, a front edge and a rear portion, the bucket having a first position wherein the bottom is substantially horizontal, a second position wherein the bottom is pivoted in one direction from horizontal wherein the front edge is substantially above the rear portion thereof for causing any material on the bottom to move rearwardly by gravity when in the bucket and a third position wherein the bottom is pivoted in another direction from horizontal wherein the front edge of the bottom is substantially below the rear portion thereof whereby any material in the bucket is caused to be dumped out the front of the bucket by gravity; and

a plurality of spaced apart tines, a top of each tine being operatively attached to the bottom of the bucket, the tines each having a free end at an end opposite to the top end thereof, a substantial portion of each tine being disposed in a respective plane which is substantially perpendicular to the first plane of the bottom of the bucket.

2. The trash collection apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tines are substantially equidistantly spaced apart.

3. The trash collection apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tines are made of spring steel whereby they will bend due to forces thereon but will return to their original shape after such forces are removed.

4. The trash collection apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tines extend laterally wider than the width of the bottom of the bucket.

5. A method of using a trash collection apparatus comprising a tractor having a frame; a front end loader operatively attached to the frame and having a bucket; the bucket having a raised position, a lowered position and elevational positions between the raised and lowered positions; the bucket being operatively pivotally attached to the frame at a lower rear portion of the bucket and having a substantially flat bottom disposed generally in a first plane, the bottom having a top side, a bottom side, a front edge and a rear portion, the bucket having a first position wherein the bottom is substantially horizontal, a second position wherein the bottom is pivoted in one direction from horizontal wherein the front edge is substantially above the rear portion thereof for causing any material on the bottom to move rearwardly by gravity when in the bucket and a third position wherein the bottom is pivoted in another direction from horizontal wherein the front edge of the bottom is substantially below the rear portion thereof whereby any material in the bucket is caused to be dumped out the front of the bucket by gravity; and a plurality of spaced apart tines, a top of each tine being operatively attached to the bottom of the bucket, the tines each having a free end at an end opposite to the top end thereof, a substantial portion of each tine being disposed in a respective plane which is substantially perpendicular to the first plane of the bottom of the bucket, said method comprising;

a) disposing the bucket so that the bottom is substantially horizontal;

b) lowering the bucket until the tines are touching the ground;

c) driving the tractor forwardly toward and through trash disposed on the ground until the trash has gathered in the tines below the bucket;

d) tipping the bucket to the second position thereof to hold the trash from falling out of the tines;

e) raising the bucket;

f) driving the tractor to a place where the trash is to be dumped; and

g) tipping the bucket to the third position thereof to dump the trash.

6. The method of using a trash collection apparatus of claim 5 wherein the bucket is disposed over a place on the ground where the trash is desired to be dumped.

7. The method of using a trash collection apparatus of claim 4 wherein the bucket is disposed over a moveable bed of a trailer or truck where the trash is desired to be dumped so it can be hauled to a place for disposal or further transfer or processing.