Land leveling apparatus with section blade assembly
First Claim
1. In land leveling apparatus, the combination comprising:
- a sectional blade assembly including;
a central blade section;
two side blade sections pivotally connected at opposite ends of said central blade section to swing between a lowered position extending laterally out from an end of said central blade section and a raised position extending up from said central blade section;
drive means for moving said side blade sections between said lowered and raised positions including a power-actuated linkage means coupled between said central blade section and said side blade sections, said linkage means including a connecting linkage for each side blade section having a lever arm fulcrumed between the ends above said central blade section, a link having one end pivotally connected to one end of said lever arm at a movable pivot and pivotally connected at the other end to an associated side blade section, and an actuator connected to the other end of said lever arm for pivoting said lever arm about its fulcrum to raise an associated side blade section, said movable pivot moving to an over-center locking position to lock the associated side blade section in the lowered position;
a hitch assembly including a pair of lower hitch arms pivotally connected at their rear ends to said central blade section; and
a leveling frame having rear wheels and pivotally connected at the front to said central blade section to form a four-sided leveling structure that maintains a scraping edge of said blade sections in a ground plane contacted by the front wheels of a pulling tractor and said rear wheels independently of the vertical movement of the rear wheels of a pulling tractor.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Land leveling apparatus includes a leveling attachment drawn by a tractor with the attachment having pivotally connected side blade sections on a central blade section affording a substantially greater leveling capacity. The side blade sections fold up to reduce width during transport and have a power-driven linkage arrangement for each blade section that moves and positions the blade sections and locks them in the lowered working position, together with upper and lower level adjustments for the side blade sections. A hitch assembly facilitates quick coupling to a crossbar carried by the lower links of the tractor linkage and is pivotally joined to the central blade section so as to facilitate rear tractor wheel movement independently of the scraper blades. A leveling frame is connected at the front end to the central blade section and the pivotal attachments of the hitch assembly to the tractor linkage with the central blade section provide a four-bar linkage leveling structure that automatically moves in response to tractor movement to maintain the scraping edge substantially in a ground plane of the rear leveler frame wheels and front wheels of the tractor independently of the vertical movement of the rear wheels of the tractor.
20 Citations
19 Claims
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1. In land leveling apparatus, the combination comprising:
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a sectional blade assembly including; a central blade section; two side blade sections pivotally connected at opposite ends of said central blade section to swing between a lowered position extending laterally out from an end of said central blade section and a raised position extending up from said central blade section; drive means for moving said side blade sections between said lowered and raised positions including a power-actuated linkage means coupled between said central blade section and said side blade sections, said linkage means including a connecting linkage for each side blade section having a lever arm fulcrumed between the ends above said central blade section, a link having one end pivotally connected to one end of said lever arm at a movable pivot and pivotally connected at the other end to an associated side blade section, and an actuator connected to the other end of said lever arm for pivoting said lever arm about its fulcrum to raise an associated side blade section, said movable pivot moving to an over-center locking position to lock the associated side blade section in the lowered position; a hitch assembly including a pair of lower hitch arms pivotally connected at their rear ends to said central blade section; and a leveling frame having rear wheels and pivotally connected at the front to said central blade section to form a four-sided leveling structure that maintains a scraping edge of said blade sections in a ground plane contacted by the front wheels of a pulling tractor and said rear wheels independently of the vertical movement of the rear wheels of a pulling tractor.
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2. Land leveling apparatus comprising, in combination:
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a prime mover having front wheels and rear wheels and hitching linkage including an upper link and a pair of laterally spaced lower links each pivotally connected at their front ends to the rear of the prime mover at two vertically spaced, front, upper and lower pivots and having a crossbar connected to the rear ends of said lower links; and a land leveling attachment releasably connected to rear end portions of said hitching linkage to be drawn behind said prime mover, said land leveling attachment including; a sectional blade assembly including a central blade section and two side blade sections pivotally connected to the central blade section to swing between a lowered position and a raised position, drive means including a linkage connected between said central section and each of said side sections, and a common actuator connected to said linkage for moving said side blade sections and retaining said side blade sections in said positions; a hitch assembly including an upright mast plate attached to said central blade section, said mast plate being pivotally connected to the rear end portion of said upper link at an upper, rear control pivot, and a pair of laterally spaced lower hitch arms pivotally connected at their rear ends to said central blade section at a lower, rear pivot, said lower hitch arms having receiving sockets at their front ends releasably connected to said crossbar; and a leveling frame having rear wheels and connected at the front end to said central blade section, said two front upper and lower pivots and said rear upper and lower pivots forming pivoted corners of a four-bar automatic leveling structure with non-parallel opposed bars, said upper rear control pivot being at the apex of a bridge-like structure extending toward the front tractor wheels and the rear wheels of the leveling frame whereby as the rear tractor wheels move vertically the tractor pivots about the front lower pivot, the control pivot is moved vertically opposite to the movement of the rear tractor wheels, and the scraping blade moves vertically with the control pivot to substantially maintain a scraping edge of said blade sections in a ground plane contacted by the front wheels of the tractor and the rear wheels of the leveling frame. - View Dependent Claims (3)
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4. In land leveling apparatus, the combination comprising:
a sectional blade assembly including; a central blade section; two side blade sections pivotally connected at opposite ends of said central blade section to swing between a lowered position extending laterally out from an end of said central blade section and a raised position extending up from said central blade section; and drive means for moving said side blade sections between said lowered and raised positions including a power-actuated linkage means coupled between said central blade section and said side blade sections with a lock arrangement for retaining said side blade sections in the lowered position, said central blade section having a pair of laterally spaced lower hitch arms each pivotally connected at rear end portions to said central blade section providing movement of said lower hitch arms relative to said central blade section at the associated pivotal connection about both a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis, each of said lower hitch arms having a bifurcated forward end portion open to slidably receive one of a pair of lower links of a tractor hitching linkage and a socket opening along an underside for slidably receiving a crossbar carried by the rear ends of said pair of lower links. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. In land leveling apparatus, the combination comprising:
a sectional blade assembly including; a central blade section; two side blade sections pivotally connected at opposite ends of said central blade section to swing between a lowered position extending laterally out from an end of said central blade section and a raised position extending up from said central blade section; drive means for moving said side blade sections between said lowered and raised positions including a power-actuated linkage means coupled between said central blade section and said side blade sections with a lock arrangement for retaining said side blade sections in the lowered position; and lower level adjustment means coupled between each of said side blade sections and said central blade section at a lower rear position. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. In land leveling apparatus, the combination comprising:
a sectional blade assembly including; a central blade section; two side blade sections pivotally connected at opposite ends of said central blade section to swing between a lowered position extending laterally out from an end of said central blade section and a raised position extending up from said central blade section; and drive means for moving said side blade sections between said lowered and raised positions including a power-actuated linkage means coupled between said central blade section and said side blade sections with a lock arrangement for retaining said side blade sections in the lowered position, said power-actuated linkage means including; a connecting linkage for each side blade section having a lever arm fulcrumed between the ends above said central blade section, a link having one end pivotally connected to one end of said lever arm at a movable pivot and pivotally connected at the other end to an associated side blade section, and an actuator connected to the other end of said lever arm for pivoting said lever arm about its fulcrum to raise an associated side blade section, said movable pivot moving to an over-center locking position to lock the associated side blade section in the lowered position. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
Specification