Excavator sizing bucket
First Claim
1. A sizing bucket for an excavator, the sizing bucket comprising:
- a base plate;
a back plate integral with the base plate;
a sizing member extending between a first location on the base plate and a second location on the back plate; and
at least one aperture through the back plate between the first and second locations;
wherein the base plate comprises a first portion for transporting materials to be sized on a first side of the sizing member and a second portion for transporting sized materials on a second side of the sizing member opposite the first side of the sizing member.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A sizing bucket for use in excavation and particularly trench padding. Embodiments of the invention include an angled sizing member extending between a base plate and a back plate of the sizing bucket. An aperture extends through the base plate beneath the sizing member. The bucket further includes an extended scoop portion to assist in transporting material to be sized and a pre-sized material portion behind the sizing member for transporting pre-sized material. A particular embodiment of the invention includes a sizing member with graded mesh sizes. The sizing bucket of embodiments of the invention allow an excavator operator to lower and tie-in pipe in a trench, transport material to the trench, size the material, pad the trench, backfill the trench and clean-up the area around the trench without the need to change buckets or excavating equipment.
-
Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A sizing bucket for an excavator, the sizing bucket comprising:
-
a base plate;
a back plate integral with the base plate;
a sizing member extending between a first location on the base plate and a second location on the back plate; and
at least one aperture through the back plate between the first and second locations;
wherein the base plate comprises a first portion for transporting materials to be sized on a first side of the sizing member and a second portion for transporting sized materials on a second side of the sizing member opposite the first side of the sizing member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A sizing bucket for an excavator, the sizing bucket comprising:
-
a base plate;
a back plate integral with the base plate;
a sizing member extending between a first location on the base plate and a second location on the back plate at an angle with respect to the base plate of between approximately 20° and
approximately 60°
; and
at least one aperture through the back plate between the first and second locations. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A sizing bucket for an excavator, the sizing bucket comprising:
-
a base plate;
a back plate integral with the base plate;
a sizing member extending between a first location on the base plate and a second location on the back plate, the sizing member comprising at least two mesh sizes such that the mesh sizes increase from a smaller mesh size near the first location to a larger mesh size near the second location; and
at least one aperture through the back plate between the first and second locations. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A sizing bucket comprising:
-
a base plate integral with a back plate;
a sizing member between the base plate and the back plate;
at least one aperture through the back plate, a total area of all apertures through the back plate having a combined area of less than half of an area of the sizing member. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
-
Specification