Patent ID: 9605407
Date: 2017-03-28
CPC Classifications: A01B,E02F

Claim:
1. An apparatus for pulling by a tow vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a frame having a leading end and an opposing trailing end spaced apart along a working direction in which the apparatus is to be drawn by the tow vehicle; wheels rotatably carried on the frame adjacent the trailing end thereof for rolling support thereof; two front blade sections respectively disposed on opposing sides of a longitudinal axis passing through the opposed leading and trailing ends of the frame, the two blade sections being fixed to the frame and diverging away from one another from a blade apex ahead of the leading end of the frame toward the opposing trailing end of the frame, and each blade section presenting a working surface that faces forwardly and laterally outward from the frame; a pull tongue having a front end adapted for coupling with the tow vehicle at a location forward of the blade apex and leading end of the frame, the pull tongue extending over the blade apex and the leading end of the frame to a rear end of the pull tongue, where a pivotal connection couples the pull tongue to the frame at a location nearer to the trailing end of the frame than to the leading thereof, the pivotal connection allowing relative pivoting between the pull tongue and the frame about a transverse pivot axis oriented cross-wise to the longitudinal axis; an undercarriage mounted to the pull tongue; an upright structure upstanding from the frame on opposite sides of the pull tongue at a position between the pivotal connection and the leading end of the frame; and a first pair of hydraulic actuators disposed on said opposite sides of the pull tongue at a location nearer to the leading end of the frame than to the trailing end thereof, each actuator having a lower end thereof coupled to the undercarriage at a distance below the pull tongue and an upper end coupled to the upright structure, the hydraulic actuators being extendable and retractable to effect relative pivoting between the frame and the pull tongue in opposite directions about the transverse pivot axis to move the blade apex at the leading end of the frame respectively upward and downward relative to the pull tongue; whereby operation of the first pair of hydraulic actuators enables adjustment of an angle between the blade sections on the frame and the trailer tongue to control a position of the blade apex relative to a ground surface over which the apparatus is pulled by the tow vehicle.