Dirt Bib

Abstract

The invention disclosed in this application is a cover for an excavator's bucket link and tipping link area designed to prevent the soil being excavated entering these areas and causing damage to the bushing and pins. The invention (10) consists of one or more flexible rectangular panels (13, 14) affixed to the excavator articulating arm by means of an attachment strap (11) such that the rectangular panel(s) cover the bucket link and tipping link area and extends down into the bucket of the excavator.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Provisional Patent Application No. 62/754,819

Filing Date: Nov. 2, 2018

Relationship: Provisional application is for the same invention

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

This invention was not made by an agency of the United States Government nor under a contract with an agency of the United States Government.

THE NAME OF THE PARTIES TO JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM (EFS-WEB)

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR

Invention has been used in inventor's privately owned business.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention is a protective cover that attaches to an excavator's bucket and is designed to protect the bushings and pins in the excavator's bucket line and tipping link that connects the excavator bucket to the excavator's articulating arm.

The dirt and rocks contained in the soil being removed from a location by an excavator often cause damage to unprotected bushings and pins in the excavator's bucket link and tipping link. The plastic or rubber covers for the bushings and pins provided on new excavators become damaged by rocks in the soil reducing or eliminating their protection efficacy. Once the plastic or rubber cover is damaged beyond usefulness, excavator owners typically use a heavy grease coating to protect the bushings and pins from the soil being excavated. However, the heavy grease must be reapplied frequently as it attaches to the soil being excavated. Additionally, the heavy grease provides little protection against rocks in the soil. The present invention is a cover for the bucket link and tipping link area designed to prevent the soil being excavated from entering these areas and causing damage to the bushing and pins.

Description of Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 9,222,240 (Apparatus for Protecting Components of An Excavator) is a protective cover designed to protect parts of the excavator from falling debris during scratch operations, that is when the excavator bucket is being scraped along a surface that is at a higher elevation than the boom, cab and engine of the excavator. This differs in the present invention as the present invention is designed to protect specific components of the bucket and tipping links from soil during digging operations. The invention in U.S. Pat. No. 9,222,240 is designed to protect the engine area from falling debris.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention disclosed in this application is a cover for an excavator's bucket link and tipping link area designed to prevent the soil being excavated entering these areas and causing damage to the bushing and pins. The invention consists of one or more rectangular panels affixed to the excavator articulating arm by means of an attachment strap such that the rectangular panel(s) cover the bucket link and tipping link area and extends down into the bucket of the excavator.

Prototypes of the invention have manufactured from heavy grade rubber similar to that utilized for conveyor belts. The attachment strap is affixed to the rectangular panel(s) by heavy duty rivets. However, it is envisioned that other materials and methods may be used to construct the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a view of the invention (10) with a single rectangular panel (13) to which the attachment strap (11) is affixed to the rectangular panel (13) with rivets (12).

FIG. 2 is view of the invention (10) with multiple rectangular panels (13, 14) to which the attachment strap (11) is affixed to the panels (13, 14) and the panels (13, 14) are affixed to each other with rivets (12). Further, FIG. 2 shows the invention (10) affixed to the articulating arm of the excavator (a) and the panels (13, 14) protecting the link area (b) and extending into the excavator's bucket (c).

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention disclosed in this application is a cover for an excavator's bucket link and tipping link area designed to prevent the soil being excavated entering these areas and causing damage to the bushing and pins. The invention (10) consists of one or more flexible rectangular panels (13, 14) affixed to the excavator articulating arm by means of an attachment strap (11) such that the rectangular panel(s) cover the bucket link and tipping link area and extends down into the bucket of the excavator.

Prototypes of the invention have been manufactured by affixing the rectangular panels (13, 14) and the attachment strap (11) to each other by means of heavy duty rivets (12). The rectangular panels (13, 14) and the attachment strap (11) have been constructed of heavy grade rubber of the type used for conveyor belts. However, it is envisioned that other materials and methods may be used to construct the invention.

The invention (10) provides a barrier between the soil being removed by the excavator and the bushings and pins in the bucket and tipping link of the excavator. As the excavator bucket digs into the soil, the soil being removed pushes the section of the rectangular panel (13, 14) that extends into the bucket to the rear of the bucket with the upper section of the rectangular panel (13, 14) covering the link area. This inhibits the soil being excavated from entering into the link area.

Potential CPC patent classification for this invention:

• • Class E02: Hydraulic Engineering; Foundations; Soil Shifting
  • Sub-Class E02F—Dredging; Soil Shifting

The present invention described above and illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is visualized as the preferred embodiment of the invention. It is envisioned that this invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in forms and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. It is therefore intended that the present invention be not limited to the exact forms and details described and illustrated herein but falls within the scope of the appended claims.

The terminology used herein is for describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the specification and relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on”, “attached” to, “connected” to, “coupled” with, “contacting”, etc., another element, it can be directly on, attached to, connected to, coupled with or contacting the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being, for example, “directly on”, “directly attached” to, “directly connected” to, “directly coupled” with or “directly contacting” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art that references to a stricture or feature that is disposed “adjacent” another feature may have portions that overlap or underlie the adjacent feature.

Claims

1. A cover for an excavator's bucket line and tipping link area consisting of one or more flexible rectangular panels and an attachment strap for affixing the cover to the excavator's articulating arm.

2. A system for preventing damage to the bushing and pins of an excavator's bucket and tipping links from the entry of excavated soil into the areas, where said system consists of a cover for the area comprised of one or more flexible rectangular panels which are attached to the excavator's articulating arm.