ADJUSTABLE GRATING ATTACHMENT FOR GRADING SOIL

Abstract: An accessory (1) that can be attached to any of a variety of heavy machinery such as bulldozers, backhoes, tractors, etc, is used for a final grading and leveling pass and is comprised of, a grating (1) having a lattice (2, 3) arrangement with a "V" pattern and a set of springs (9) disposed at each side of a hydraulic piston (6) which controls the level of the grating.

Description: ADJUSTABLE GRATING ATTACHMENT FOR GRADING SOIL DESCRIPTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is an accessory that can be attached to the bucket of any of a variety of heavy machinery such as bulldozers, backhoes, tractors, etc, and is used for a final grading and leveling pass. 1/ Field of the Invention This invention relates to the field of heavy duty earth moving equipment apparatus or tooling in general but more specifically to means of leveling and grading filling materials. 2/ Description of the Relevant Art In most types of soil surfacing work such as road construction, landscaping, parking lots and any other areas where leveling and grading of soil surfaces is needed to prepare the surface for ulterior work such as asphalting, turfing and so on, any aggregates used as filling material are moved and leveled in a first pass with standard machinery which leaves imperfections that have to be corrected manually using rakes. This is of course labor intensive and time consuming. There exists a number of grader attachment for use in agriculture and construction alike but they usually involve the use of a shovel as the grading implement. One particular attachment as described in patent 4,976,052 can be used as a preliminary step for preparation of a road bed but is not a finishing tool. In fact it is for unprepared soil. None of the previous art seems to provide a practical way of mechanically doing the finishing preparation of soil except for Canadian 2 patent number 2,215,318 by this inventor. The present disclosure describes a new and unobvious inventive step over that prior Canadian patent that provides added functionality and is worthy of a patent. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of this invention is to replace manual finishing with a tool which can easily be attached to existing heavy machinery and will provide the proper grading and finishing to the surface. The adjustable grating attachment is equipped with identical sets of springs disposed at each side of a piston arrangement which controls the level of the grating. Due to the "V" shape arrangement of the lattice which makes up the grating, when the filling material is being dragged, the grating bobs the bumps and fills the holes but when that same grating is pushed in the opposite direction, any excess filling material is pushed on either sides of the grating. Furthermore, to help get an even better finish, on at least one side of the grating but preferably both sides, exists a movable section that is movable in relation to the main grating section. Said movable section is used when a special contour is to be obtained such as contouring mounds or elevated pathways and other such landscaping features. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a front elevation of the grating positioned parallel to a bucket of heavy machinery equipment. FIG 2 is a front elevation of the main grating section positioned at an angle to the bucket, with two movable sections arranged at different angles in relation to the main grating section. FIG 3 is an isometric view of the spring and piston arrangement. FIG 4 is a side elevation showing how the grating can be attached to a bucket. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG 1 The grating 1 shown generally is comprised of a main grating section 2 and one or more movable grating section 3. Each of said sections have "V" patterns. The main grating section 2 has a pair of adapters 4 and 4' made to fit usually into a bucket 5 such as those found on heavy machinery. Said adapters 4, 4' are further comprised of springs 6 and 6' all situated at opposite sides of a double ended hydraulic piston 7 (or a pair of pistons) . Said hydraulic piston 7 is connected to the said springs 6, 6' by tensioning chains 8 and 8' which pass through chain guides 9 and 9 1 . A set of retainer chains 10 and 10' act as stabilizers for the grating 1 during operation. FIG 2 Shows what happens when the hydraulic piston 7 pulls on one of the tensioning chain 8 exerting pressure on one spring 6 which has the effect of repositioning the grating 1. Also, the movable grating section 3 can assume any of a variety of position in relation to the main grating section 2. Any given position is maintained by locking means 11 that can also be, but not necessarily used as attaching means between the movable grating section 3 and the main grating section 2. Fig 3 demonstrates the detail of how the hydraulic piston 7 can pull or release the spring 6. It also shows the chain guide 9 and one of the retainer chain 10 FIG 4 is a side elevation detail of the adapter 4 that attaches to a bucket 5 and is secured by means of a chain tensioner 11.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An adjustable grating attachment for grading soil comprising: a main lattice and one or more movable lattices wherein each of said lattices has "V" patterns; a linkage assembly attached to said main lattice; an adaptor; a pair of springs attached to said linkage assembly and said adaptor to absorb shocks; a piston that cooperates with said pair of springs through tensioning chains to change the angle of the main lattice; and means to allow the one or more movable lattices to move in relation to the main lattice selected from the group consisting of pins, hooks, hinges and linkages; said main lattice being operated by retraction and extension of said piston; said piston firstly pulling the main lattice in one direction so that the main lattice will move filling material towards the center of the main lattice and fill holes and secondly, by moving said main lattice an opposite direction, pushing the main lattice so that the main lattice will now push outside the "V" patterns any excess filling material. 2. The adjustable grating attachment for grading soil as described in claim 1 wherein said linkage further comprises: guides to guide the tensioning chains. 3. The adjustable grating attachment for grading soil as described in claim 1 wherein said adaptor comprises: a pair of hooks, back stops and chain tensioners adapted to be attached to a bucket from a vehicle. 4. The adjustable grating attachment for grading soil as described in claim 1 comprising: stabilizing chains connected between said linkage assembly and said adaptor to stop the main lattice from dropping down or swaying from side to side.

Inventors: GOULET LUC, GOULET, LUC
Applicants: GOULET LUC, GOULET, LUC
Application year: 2000
Main classification: E02F3
IPC codes: A01B31