Gravity drop hammer apparatus for a skid loader

A gravity drop hammer apparatus for mounting on the bucket attachment mechanism of a skid loader, in which at least a distal portion of the hammer apparatus is capable of dropping, under forces of gravity, from a raised position toward an impact position upon release by an operator of the skid loader, the hammer apparatus allowing for variable impact at distal locations from the skid loader. The gravity drop hammer apparatus comprises a hammer member, a mounting plate member which is pivotally attached to the hammer member for attaching the hammer member to the bucket attachment mechanism of the skid loader, and a releasable latching assembly for latching the hammer member to the mounting plate member prior to pivotally raising the hammer member to its raised position. Upon release of the releasable latching assembly, the hammer member is allowed to fall, under the forces of gravity, from the raised position to the impact position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to concrete breakers and the like for skid loaders 
and, more particularly, to a gravity drop hammer apparatus for mounting on 
bucket attachment means of a skid loader in which at least a distal 
portion of the hammer apparatus is capable of dropping, under the forces 
of gravity, from a raised position toward an impact position, upon release 
by an operator of the skid loader for variable impact at distal locations 
from the skid loader. 
The use of concrete breakers and the like with a variety of construction 
equipment, including skid loaders, is well known in the prior art. 
Likewise, gravity drop hammers for breaking concrete and the like are also 
known. However, concrete breakers for skid loaders are typically comprised 
of a vibratory weight of a punch or chisel configuration which is powered 
by auxiliary hydraulics on the skid loader to deliver 500-1300 vibratory 
blows per minute. Such breakers are complicated machines which are 
expensive to purchase and maintain. In addition, these breakers can only 
be used on skid loaders with corresponding attachment features including 
auxiliary hydraulics. Furthermore, these breakers can be difficult to 
attach and remove as the hydraulic lines are hard to connect and 
disconnect when under pressure. Hydraulic oil is often sprayed out of the 
lines during connection and disconnection. 
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a concrete breaker which is less 
complicated and expensive than the hydraulic powered vibratory breakers of 
the prior art and which may be used on all skid loaders, regardless of 
whether or not the skid loader has auxiliary hydraulics. The difficulties 
in the prior art concrete breakers and the like are substantially 
eliminated by the present invention. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gravity 
drop hammer apparatus for a skid loader in which at least a distal portion 
of the hammer apparatus is capable of dropping, under the forces of 
gravity, from a raised position toward an impact position, upon release by 
an operator of the skid loader. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a gravity drop 
hammer apparatus for a skid loader which can deliver variable impacts at 
distal locations from the skid loader. 
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a gravity 
drop hammer apparatus for a skid loader which may be mounted to the bucket 
attachment means of the skid loader. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gravity drop 
hammer apparatus for a skid loader which may be raised by the bucket 
raising means of the skid loader. 
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a gravity drop 
hammer apparatus for a skid loader which may be used on all skid loaders, 
regardless of whether the skid loader has auxiliary hydraulics or not. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a gravity drop 
hammer apparatus for a skid loader which does not require auxiliary 
hydraulics. 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a gravity drop 
hammer apparatus for a skid loader which is less expensive and less 
complicated than those of the prior art. 
By the present invention, it is proposed to overcome the difficulties 
encountered heretofore. To this end, a gravity drop hammer apparatus for 
mounting to bucket attachment means of a skid loader is provided in which 
at least a distal portion of the hammer apparatus is capable of dropping, 
under the forces of gravity, from a raised position toward an impact 
position, upon release by an operator of the skid loader for variable 
impact at distal locations from the skid loader. The gravity drop hammer 
apparatus comprises a hammer member, hammer support means for operable and 
pivotal attachment of the hammer member to the bucket attachment means of 
the skid loader, pivot means operably interposed between the hammer member 
and the hammer support means for enabling the hammer member to pivot 
between the raised position and the impact position, and releasable 
latching means operably interposed between the hammer member and the 
hammer support means for automatically latching the hammer member to the 
hammer support means prior to raising the hammer member to a raised 
position and for maintaining the hammer member in the raised position. 
Upon release of the releasable latching means by the operator of the skid 
loader, the hammer member is allowed to drop, under the forces of gravity, 
from the raised position towards the impact position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In the Figures, a gravity drop hammer apparatus is shown generally at 10 
for mounting on bucket attachment means 12 of a skid loader 14, in which 
at least a distal portion 16 of the hammer apparatus 10 is capable of 
dropping, under forces of gravity, from a raised position, as shown in 
FIGS. 1 and 7, toward an impact position, as shown in FIG. 8, upon release 
of said hammer apparatus 10 by an operator of the skid loader 14. The 
hammer apparatus 10 may be used for variable impact at distal locations 
from the skid loader 14. 
In FIGS. 2-4, the gravity drop hammer apparatus 10 is shown prior to 
mounting on the bucket attachment means 12 of the skid loader 14. The 
hammer apparatus 10 is comprised of a hammer member 18 and hammer support 
means 20, the hammer support means 20 which are attached to the bucket 
attachment means 12 of the skid loader. The hammer support means 20 are 
further pivotally attached to the hammer member 18 by pivot means 22 which 
are located for operation between the hammer member 18 and the hammer 
support means 20 thereby providing a pivotal connection between the hammer 
member 18 and the bucket attachment means 12 of the skid loader 14. 
The gravity drop hammer apparatus 10 further comprises releasable latching 
means 24 located for operation between the hammer member 18 and the hammer 
support means 20 for automatically latching the hammer member 18 to the 
hammer support means 20 prior to raising the hammer member 18 to a raised 
position. The releasable latching means 24 additionally maintain the 
hammer member 18 in the raised position. Upon release of the latching 
means 24 by an operator of the skid loader 14, the latching means 24 allow 
the hammer member to drop, under the forces of gravity, from the raised 
position towards the desired impact position. 
In the preferred embodiment, the hammer member 18 has a head portion 26 
located at the distal portion 16 of the hammer apparatus 10 and a 
longitudinally extended arm portion 28, the arm portion 28 which has a 
first end 30 and a second end 32. The first end 30 of the longitudinally 
extended arm portion 28 is located proximate the hammer support means 20 
and is pivotally attached thereto. The second end 32 of the longitudinally 
extended arm portion 28 is located proximate and is attached to the head 
portion 26 of the hammer member 18. The head portion 26 of the hammer 
member 18 has a main body section 34 attached to the second end 32 of the 
arm portion 28 of the hammer member 18 and a striking section 36 which is 
positioned below the main body section 34 to provide the impact from the 
hammer member 18 when the hammer member 18 is dropped. The cross-section 
of the striking section 36 is narrower than the cross-section of the main 
body section 34 to provide a concentrated load at the impact location. 
The hammer support means 20 of the preferred embodiment are made up of a 
mounting plate member 38 which corresponds in size and shape for 
attachment to the bucket attachment means 12 of the skid loader 14. In 
FIGS. 2 and 3, the mounting plate member 38 is shown as a rectangular 
metal base 40 which corresponds in size and shape to two interconnected 
L-shaped face plates 42 and 44 which are the interfacing portion of the 
bucket attachment means 12 of the skid loader 14. The mounting plate 
member 38 includes an overturned lip 46 for overlapping the top of the leg 
portions 43 and 45 of the interconnected face plates 42 and 44. The 
mounting plate member 38 further includes bottom flanges 48 (only one 
shown) for underlapping the foot portions 50 and 52 of the interconnected 
face pates 42 and 44 respectively. The flanges 48 have apertures 54 (only 
one shown) and the foot portions 50 and 52 of the interconnected face 
plates 42 and 44 have apertures 58 (only one shown) which are aligned with 
the apertures 54 of the bottom flanges 48 of the mounting plate member 38 
for insertion of connecting pins 60 (only one shown) when the mounting 
plate member 38 is attached to the interconnected face plates 42 and 44 of 
the skid loader 14. It is to be understood that an identical bottom flange 
48, aperture 54, and connecting pin 60 are located on the mounting plate 
member 38 corresponding to foot portion 50 of face plate 42 on the skid 
loader 14. 
The face plates 42 and 44 of the bucket attachment means 12 of the skid 
loader 14 may be pivoted to near horizontal during attachment of the 
mounting plate member 38 (FIG. 4) and for latching of the hammer member 18 
to the mounting plate member 38 (See FIG. 6). The face plates 42 and 44 of 
the bucket attachment means 12 of the skid loader 14 may be pivoted to 
near vertical during attachment of the mounting plate member 38 (See FIG. 
5) and for raising of the hammer member 18 to a raised position (See FIG. 
7). The face plates 42 and 44 are pivoted about a pivot pin 62 by a 
hydraulic cylinder 64 connected to the interconnected face plates 42 and 
44 at bracket 66. 
The pivot means 22 between the first end 30 of the arm portion 28 of the 
hammer member 18 and the mounting plate member 38 are comprised of a pivot 
pin 68 which passes through a tubular portion 70 of a connecting bracket 
72 on the mounting plate member 38 and a corresponding tubular portion 74 
at the first end 30 of the arm portion 28 of the hammer member 18. The 
pivot pin 68 provides an axis about which the hammer member may be pivoted 
between a raised position and an impact position in a controlled fashion 
with respect to the mounting plate member 38. 
In the preferred embodiment, the releasable latching means 24 include a 
spring-biased latching hook assembly 76 (spring located internally and not 
shown) attached near the first end 30 of the arm portion 28 of the hammer 
member 18 and a latching bracket 78 integrated on the rectangular metal 
base 40 of the mounting plate member 38. The latching hook assembly 76 and 
the latching bracket 78 are thus located on opposite sides of the pivot 
pin 68. The latching hook assembly 76 comprises a stationary member 80 
mounted on a mounting shelf 82 and having the spring located therein. The 
spring is connected on its one end with a lever 84 and on its other end 
with a jaw 86. The jaw 86 is pivotal with respect to the stationary member 
80 about pivot pin 88. The jaw can thus pivot from an open position (See 
FIG. 6) to a closed position (See FIG. 7). The lever 84 when pulled by a 
manually operated line 90, in turn, pulls the spring to release the jaw 86 
from its closed position to its open position. The latching hook assembly 
76 and the latching bracket 78 serve to releasably latch the hammer member 
18 and the mounting plate member 38 together. 
The gravity drop hammer apparatus 10 is attached to the skid loader 14 and 
operated in the following manner. The interconnected face plates 42 and 44 
of the skid loader 14 are located in an aligned fashion with the mounting 
plate member 38 of the hammer apparatus 10. The face plates 42 and 44 are 
pivoted to near horizontal by the hydraulic cylinder 64 (See FIG. 4). The 
skid loader 14 is then edged forward and the face plates 42 and 44 are 
pivoted towards vertical catching the overturned lip 46 of the mounting 
plate member 38 on the way. The pivoting of the face plates 42 and 44 is 
continued until near vertical at which time the rectangular metal base 40 
of the mounting plate member 38 interfaces with the leg portions 43 and 45 
of the face plates 42 and 44 and the bottom flanges 48 of the mounting 
plate member 38 interface with the foot portions 50 and 52 of the face 
plates 42 and 44 (See FIG. 5). The connecting pins 60 are then placed in 
the aligned apertures 54 of the bottom flanges 48, and 58 of the foot 
portions 50 and 52 of the face plates 42 and 44. The mounting plate member 
38 and face plates 42 and 44 of the skid loader are now attached and 
working as an integrated unit so that pivoting of the face plates 42 and 
44 by the hydraulic cylinder 64 likewise pivots the mounting plate member 
38 of the hammer apparatus 10. 
The mounting plate member 38 is then pivoted, by way of the hydraulic 
cylinder 64 and face plates 42 and 44, downwardly (See FIG. 6) towards 
horizontal until the latching bracket 78 contacts the open latching hook 
assembly 76 thereby tripping the latching hook assembly 76 and causing the 
jaw 86 to pivot from its open position to its closed position. The hammer 
member 18 and the mounting plate member 38 are now latched and working as 
an integrated unit so that the pivoting of the mounting plate member 38 by 
way of the hydraulic cylinder 64 and the face plates 42 and 44 likewise 
pivots the hammer member 18 of the hammer apparatus 10. 
The hydraulic cylinder 64 then pivots the face plates 42 and 44 and the 
mounting plate member 38 towards vertical, the latched hammer member 18 
likewise pivoting upwardly to its raised position (See FIG. 7). The hammer 
member 18 may be raised to a variety of positions by the hydraulic 
cylinder 64, depending on the impact desired, since the latching hook 
assembly 76 is located at the first end 30 of the arm portion 28 of the 
hammer member 18, opposite the head portion 26 of the hammer member 18. 
The operator of the skid loader 14 then pulls on the line 90 which, in 
turn, pulls the lever 84 thereby expanding the spring to overcome its bias 
and release the jaw 86 from its closed position to its open position. The 
open jaw 86 allows the hammer member 18 to drop, under the forces of 
gravity, from the raised position to the desired impact position, the 
striking section 36 of the distal portion 16 of the hammer member 18 thus 
delivering a concentrated blow to the desired impact position. The hammer 
member 18 may then be relatched and raised again to deliver subsequent 
blows. 
The longitudinally extended arm portion 28 of the preferred hammer member 
18 is comprised of a six inch by six inch steel frame which is seven feet 
long. The preferred head portion 26 of the hammer member 18 weighs 120 
pounds and has a four inch by four inch striking section 36. A range of 1 
to 180 blows per minute are anticipated. Of course, an unlimited number of 
alternatives to these dimensions is possible. 
One alternative which is contemplated is to provide a telescopic 
longitudinally extended arm portion of the hammer member which is capable 
of variable adjustment in length. Another alternative which is anticipated 
by this invention is to provide head portions of varying dimensions which 
are interchangeable. Yet another alternative which is contemplated is to 
provide a rubber boot over the striking section of the head portion of the 
hammer member to keep rock chips from flying upon impact. 
The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the 
invention and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the 
claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure 
before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein 
without departing from the scope of the invention. By way of example, 
while the specific latching hook assembly 76 of the preferred embodiment 
is shown, it is contemplated that other releasable latching assemblies 
would also work.