US20240200307A1

US20240200307A1 - Dirt Bib

Info

Publication number: US20240200307A1
Application number: US18/081,800
Authority: US
Inventors: Todd P. Corley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2022-12-15
Filing date: 2022-12-15
Publication date: 2024-06-20

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 from entering these areas and causing damage to the bushing and pins. The invention (10) consists of a flexible rectangular panel (13) affixed to the excavator articulating arm by means of an attachment strap (11) such that the rectangular panel covers the bucket link and tipping link area and extends down into the bucket of the excavator.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention is a protective cover that attaches to an excavator's arm 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.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,346 (Bucket Cover for Excavating Implements) is a cover for the bucket of the excavator to enclose materials within the bucket from falling out of the bucket until the bucket is purposefully emptied. 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. 4,858,346 is designed to prevent materials from exiting the bucket prematurely.

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 a rectangular panel affixed to the excavator articulating arm by means of an attachment strap such that the rectangular panel covers the bucket link and tipping link area and extends down into the bucket of the excavator.
Prototypes of the invention have been manufactured from heavy grade rubber similar to that utilized for conveyor belts. The attachment strap is affixed to the rectangular panel 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 with a singular rectangular panel (13) to which the attachment strap (11) is riveted to the panel (13). Further, FIG. 2 shows the invention affixed to the articulating arm of the excavator (a) and the invention protecting the link area (b) and extending into the excavator's bucket (c).

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 a flexible rectangular panel (13) affixed to the excavator articulating arm by means of an attachment strap (11) such that the rectangular panel covers the bucket link and tipping link area and extends down into the bucket of the excavator.
The rectangular panel (13) and the attachment strap (11) are constructed of heavy grade natural or synthetic rubber of the type used for conveyor belts, with a typical thickness of less than 1 inch. However, it is envisioned that other materials and methods may be used to construct the invention.
The rectangular panel (13) can vary in width from 18 to 72 inches and vary in length from 24 to 78 inches. The attachment strap (11) can vary in width from 4 to 6 inches and in length from 14 to 68 inches. The strap (11) is attached to the rectangular panel (13) utilizing metallic rivets.
The rectangular panel (13) and strap (11) are sized to work with a number of excavator classes including but not limited to mini (2,060-22,450 pounds), small (28,660-42,340 pound), medium (42,280-77,000 pounds), and large (88,200-158,300 pounds).
The invention 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) that extends into the bucket to the rear of the bucket with the upper section of the rectangular panel (13) 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

The invention claimed is:

1. A cover for an excavator's bucket line and tipping link area consisting of a flexible rectangular panel and an attachment strap for affixing the cover to the excavator's articulating arm where said rectangular panel is 18 to 72 inches in width and 24 to 78 inches in length, where said attachment strap is 4 to 6 inches in width and 14 to 68 inches in length, where said rectangular panel and said attachment strap are constructed from natural or synthetic rubber, and where said attachment strap is affixed to said rectangular panel by one or more metallic rivets.

2. A cover for an excavator's bucket bushings and pins and tipping link area consisting of a flexible rectangular panel and an attachment for affixing the cover to the excavator's articulating arm where said panel protects the tipping link area from the intrusion of excavated materials by the excavated material pushing said rectangular panel into position to protect the bushings, pins, and tipping link area.