DITCH ROLLER ATTACHMENT FOR EARTH LOADING MACHINE

• US 3,680,452 A
• Filed: 06/29/1970
• Issued: 08/01/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Joe T. Mangum
• Original Assignee: Joe T. Mangum
• Inventors: Mangum, Joe T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nackenoff, Jacob C.
• Application Number:
  US05/050,708
• Time in Patent Office: 764 Days
• Field of Search: 94/50 37/142.5 214/145
• US Class Current: 404/127
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 3/032 Trench rollers
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/962 Mounting of implements directly on tools already attached to the machine E02F3/404 and E02F3/8152 take precedence

Abstract

An attachment for the earth-working bucket or scoop part of a front-end loader or similar tractor-type earth-working vehicle. The attachment includes a relatively narrow earth-packing roller of a width permitting the roller to be received in a narrow trench or ditch, and for use in packing loose layers of earth in refilling or backfilling the ditch, as for example, in the procedure of laying a string of pipe in a ditch. The roller of the attachment is subjacently centrally supported on the bucket or scoop part of the loader machine - in using the attachment, the machine straddles the ditch and is piloted back and forth along the ditch in rolling and compacting the ditch floor.

Claims

1. A ditch roller attachment for a bucket of a loader, end loader, which bucket can be raised, lowered or tilted, said attachment comprising;

an attachment frame including an upper portion adapted to span the upper and lower walls of said bucket when the mouth of the bucket is tilted to extend forwardly;

said attachment frame also having a lower portion angularly related to said upper frame portion and rotatably supporting a ditch roller;

said upper portion having means at its upper end zone adapted to be secured to the upper wall of said bucket; and

said upper portion also having means to attach to the lower wall of said bucket, said means to attach to the lower wall including restraining means effective to maintain the roller and frame in a predetermined orientation with respect to the upper and lower walls.

2. The ditch roller attachment as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means to attach to the lower wall incLuding said restraining means comprises support ledge means fixed to said attachment means to engage the outer terminal margin of the lower wall of said bucket.

3. A ditch roller attachment as set forth in claim 1 wherein said restraining means includes means extending from said frame in the vicinity of the juncture of the said upper and lower portion and having means to be secured to said bucket.

4. The attachment as set forth in claim 3 wherein said restraining means comprises flexible means extending from aid frame in the vicinity of the juncture of said upper and lower portion to secure the attachment against the terminal end of the lower wall of said bucket and said flexible means including tensioning means for lengthening or shortening said flexible means.

5. The attachment as set forth in claim 1 additionally including means for leveling the earth of a ditch floor including an elongate leveling blade of a lateral length substantially the same as the axial length of said roller, and having a proximal end edge and an earth-working distal end edge, means pivotally supporting the blade proximal end edge on said attachment frame on a horizontal axis, generally swingable coincident to the plane of rotation of the attachment roller, and with the distal end edge of said blade being adapted for swinging oblique movement generally inwardly and outwardly of said roller and respectively downwardly and upwardly relative to a ditch floor and the horizontal plane of support of said roller.

6. The attachment as set forth in claim 5 additionally including means for limiting the swinging inward movement of said leveling blade toward said attachment roller and for positioning the distal end edge of said blade generally coincident to the horizontal plane of support of said roller.

7. The attachment as set forth in claim 6 wherein said means for limiting the swinging inward movement of said leveling blade includes support foot means fixed on said blade adjacent the distal extremity thereof, said support foot means having a terminal portion adapted to bear against the working circular periphery of said roller in limiting inward movement of said blade in the positioning thereof.

8. The attachment as set forth in claim 7 wherein said means for limiting the swinging movement of said leveling blade toward said attachment roller additionally includes a dwell recess formed on said leveling blade intermediate the length thereof, defining a surface adapted to ridingly engage the circular periphery of said roller.

9. The attachment as set forth in claim 8 including means for maintaining said leveling blade in a raised inactive configuration, elevated above said ditch floor.

10. The attachment as set forth in claim 9 including chain means connecting said leveling blade and said frame, including means for adjusting the effective length of said chain means and in maintaining said leveling blade in said raised inactive position.