Bucket Glides

Abstract

A ski shaped glide of hardened steel, two or more of which can be attached to the bottom of a bucket on a front-end loader when the bucket is used for plowing snow with the lift hydraulics in float position. The glide specifically referred to as a bucket-glide, significantly and effectively prevent the bucket cutting edge from digging into the road or ground surface when plowing, especially when the ground surface is soft or uneven. To accomplish this objective the bucket-glides are attached to the underside the bucket bottom typically with one in the middle and one near each outside edge with the glide's toes extending upward just beyond the bucket's cutting edge. The acute angle bend of the toes allow the bucket to be tilted downward to enable the bucket cutting edge to effectively engage the snow and enable the bucket to glide over and follow the terrain without having the cutting edge dig in and remove unwanted material. The invention allows the operator to adjust the bucket tilt angle to accommodate for most ground conditions. When plowing snow on soft, unfrozen ground a slight bucket tilt angle allows more of the bucket-glide's surface area to make ground contact and therefore provides more bucket support, preventing the cutting edge from digging in. As the operator increases the bucket tilt angle it progressively reduces the bucket-glide's surface area contact with the ground and support of the bucket resulting in more of the bucket's weight being transferred to the bucket's cutting edge. This reduced bucket support is useful because it allows the cutting edge to aggressively scrape hard surfaces like pavement or frozen ground while still maintaining ground clearance. Bucket glides are attached with a bolt or clamp.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to the plowing of snow with a tractor or any other machine equipped with a front-end loader and bucket. More specifically the present invention relates to a ski shaped device called a “bucket-glide” that when two or more are attached to the bottom of the bucket the many problems encountered when plowing snow become greatly reduced. BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART [0002] The use of devices that maintain ground clearance and provide support on snow removal equipment are well known. For example snowplows use wear shoes, snow blowers use skids and others even use rollers. More particularly, however, an example of a simple support / ground clearance device that can be attached to a bucket on a front-end loader for plowing snow appears to be absent from the prior art. Commonly, the plowing of snow with a bucket attached to a front-end loader on a tractor is tedious work and requires operator expertise. Typically, using a bucket to plow snow has ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] If the ground surface is not smooth, flat and hard, similar to new blacktop, efficient plowing of snow with a bucket on a front-end loader is very difficult and requires operator expertise. Without constant bucket angle and height adjustment even the best operator will experience the bucket either digging in or floating up over the snow like a toboggan leaving a packed layer of snow behind. Bucket-glides minimize the problems of the bucket's cutting edge catching on the ground or “floating” upwards over the snow, therefore greatly reducing the need for the operator to constantly adjust the height and angle of the bucket. Bucket-glides, specifically designed to be used with the lift hydraulics in float position, make the plowing of snow using a front-end loader efficient and easy even for the operator with limited experience. Most importantly they offer the owner, at a fraction of the cost of an expensive snowplow attachment, the ability to plow yet retain the utility of his bucket.

Problems solved by technology

If the ground surface is not smooth, flat and hard, similar to new blacktop, efficient plowing of snow with a bucket on a front-end loader is very difficult and requires operator expertise.

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