Ditch digging apparatus

A ditch digging apparatus including a bucket having a bottom wall with a radius curvature for digging ditches deeper than four feet, a back wall, a pair of spaced-apart side wall, an open front, a pair of forwardly tilting bracket members and an elongated support member. This ditch digging apparatus is easily and conventionally mounted to a loader on a prime mover and is adapted to cut into the ground and form a ditch in one single longitudinal pass through the ground.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a ditch digging apparatus which can be mounted as 
essentially a front end bucket to a prime mover for cutting, digging and 
forming ditches. 
Ditches are generally formed along roads and even along fields to 
facilitate the runoff of water from the roads and the fields. Such ditches 
typically have round bottoms and have been conventionally cut using 
backhoes or other ditch digging apparatuses; wherein, such apparatuses 
generally include heavy equipment which has an adjustable boom with some 
sort of bucket attached at the end of the boom. The user extends the boom 
and uses the bucket to cut and dig the land where the ditch is to be 
formed. This process usually takes an inordinate amount of time and 
energy, because so much of the ground can be picked up each time with the 
bucket and dumped away from where the digging is being done. 
One known prior art is a DITCHING PLOW, U.S. Pat. No. 63,952, issued on 
Apr. 16, 1867 and invented by H. B. Smawley and comprises a beam, a share, 
two cutters, channels, flanges for the cutters, a chute, and guards. The 
share plows through the ground with the cutters cutting the ground as the 
plow moves with the ground being passed through the channel and out the 
chute. 
Another known prior art an EXCAVATION BUCKET, U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,990, 
issued on May 23, 1995 and invented by William C. Otwell and comprises a 
bottom assembly which defines a scoop slot opening along a portion of the 
bottom assembly. 
Yet, another known prior art is a DITCH DIGGING APATUS AND METHOD, U.S. 
Pat. No. 5,353,531, issued on Oct. 11, 1994 and invented by Rene P. 
Doucette and comprises a bucket having a top wall, bottom wall and a pair 
of side walls diverging forwardly from the rear wall to an open from end 
of the bucket, one of the side walls being planar and defining a sharp 
corner with the bottom wall, the other side wall having a curved bottom 
end whereby a round bottom ditch is formed by dragging the sharp corner 
through the ground in a first pass, and then making a second pass through 
the ground using the curved end of the bucket. 
None of the prior art allows the user to quickly and conveniently cut and 
form a ditch by making one pass longitudinally through the ground and 
without having to bring out the heaving equipment such as described in the 
Doucette patent. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a ditch digging apparatus which includes a 
bucket having a back wall, a pair of side walls, a bottom wall having a 
radius curvature, and a means for mounting to a prime mover. 
One objective of the present invention is to provide a ditch digging 
apparatus which not only cuts into the ground but also forms the ditch at 
the same time as it makes one pass through a proposed ditch area of the 
ground. 
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a ditch digging 
apparatus which essentially reduces the amount of time it takes to make a 
ditch by as much as one half. 
Yet, another objective of the present invention is to provide a ditch 
digging apparatus which eliminates the need to bring out the heavy 
equipment to dig and form a ditch. 
Further objectives and advantages of the present invention will become 
apparent as the description proceeds and when taken in conjunction with 
the accompanying drawings wherein:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to the drawings in FIGS. 1-4, in particular, the ditch digging 
apparatus 10 comprises a bucket 15 having a back wall 16 and a bottom wall 
17 having an upward radius curvature relative to the ground 35 with the 
radius of curvature being longitudinal and being as much as 6.5 feet and 
as little as 2 feet and further being substantially symmetrical to 
facilitate the making of round bottom ditches, and further having a pair 
of spaced-apart side walls 18,19 diverging downward to the bottom wall 17, 
an open front 20, and means for mounting the bucket 15 to a prime mover or 
utility vehicle 30 which includes an elongate support member 23 which is 
generally tubular and which is conventionally attached on the exterior of 
the back wall 16 near the bottom 16A thereof and extending substantially 
the length of the back wall 16 and being disposed generally parallel to 
the bottom 16A of the back wall 16, and also includes a pair of 
spaced-apart angled bracket members 21,22 conventionally attached to the 
exterior of the back wall 16 and to the elongate support member 23 and 
each having a lower portion 21A,22A angled generally perpendicular thereto 
and generally parallel to the elongate support member 23. Each of the 
angled lower portions 21A,22A has a hole 21B,22B therethrough for 
conventionally mounting the ditch digging apparatus 10 to the loader of 
the prime mover or utility vehicle 30. The bracket members 21,22 are 
angled relative to the back wall 16 with the top ends 21C,22C of the 
bracket members 21,22 being tilted forward relative to the bottom ends 
21D,22D to essentially facilitate the forward tilting of the bucket 15 
when being used to cut into the ground 35. A cross member 24 is connected 
to the two bracket members 21,22 and extends therebetween to provide added 
strength to the bracket members 21,22. In addition, the side walls 18,19 
are strengthened with a pair of substantially flat brace members 26,27 
being attached to the back wall 16 and to the side walls 18,19 at the top 
ends 21C,22C thereof. 
In operation, the user mounts the ditch digging apparatus 10 to the loader 
of a prime mover or utility vehicle 30 and begins the ditch digging 
process by lowering and tilting forward the bucket 15 to the ground 35 
where the ditch 36 is to be made and uses the utility vehicle 30 to push 
the bucket 15 forward through the ground 35; whereupon the longitudinal 
front edge 17A of the bottom wall 17 cuts and digs into the ground 35 as 
the bucket 15 is urged forwardly through the ground 35 and essentially 
forms a round bottom ditch 36 like that of the curvature of the bottom 
wall 17. Unlike the prior art, this ditch digging apparatus 10 cuts and 
forms a ditch 36 in the same single longitudinal pass through the ground 
35 and essentially reduces the amount of time to create a ditch 36 by as 
much as one half; wherein the prior art such as the DITCH DIGGING 
APATUS AND METHOD, U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,531 cuts and digs into the 
ground 35 in a first pass through the ground 35 and then forms the ditch 
in a second pass with another end of the bucket 15. Depending upon the 
radius of curvature of the bottom wall 17, this ditch digging apparatus 10 
can make a ditch 36 deeper than four feet. As described above, this ditch 
digging apparatus 10 eliminates the need to use larger and heavier 
equipment such as backhoes and cranes to make ditches. The width of the 
bucket 15 can be as wide as eight feet with the width of the bottom wall 
17 being approximately two feet wide and the height of the bucket 15 being 
approximately two feet high. 
Various changes and departures may be made to the invention without 
departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Accordingly, it is not 
intended that the invention be limited to that specifically described in 
the specification or as illustrated in the drawings but only as set forth 
in the claims.