Abstract:
A cable handling accessory for use on an earth moving vehicle, such as a back hoe. The accessory replaces the front bucket of a backhoe and has cable rolled thereon.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to the general art of cable handling, and to the particular field of cable handling in a mining operation. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   In a mining operation, many pieces of heavy equipment must use large electrical cables which run along the ground. These cables often measure three (3) inches or more in diameter and one (1) or more miles in length, making them very difficult to be moved by manual laborers. Therefore, there is a need for a means for efficiently moving cables on and from a mining site. 
   Heavy earth moving equipment typically includes multi-purpose loader buckets or backhoes which are well adept for moving and hauling sand, gravel, landfill or the like. Due to their versatility, speed and loading capacity, these vehicles are especially suitable for construction, excavation and agricultural applications. 
   While these vehicles are quite versatile to perform multiple earth moving functions, there are many more tasks that could be performed if such equipment were suitably modified. These vehicles are often found on a mining site. Therefore, it would be advantageous if they could be modified to handle cables and wires found on a mining site. However, the inventor is not aware of any such vehicle. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The above-discussed disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by a cable handling accessory for use on an earth moving vehicle, such as a back hoe. The accessory replaces the front bucket of a backhoe and has cable rolled thereon. The accessory is used to carry and move cable around shovels and draglines and replaces manual labor. Moving cable around a work area, such as a mining site, is thus easier than having manual labor gather the cable and carry it from place to place. 
   The principal purpose of the cable handler of the present invention is to keep sufficient slack in the cable to allow the draglines and shovels to move freely. When lacking sufficient slack, the cable will dislocate from the draglines and shovels causing a temporary power outage to the equipment and an electrical safety hazard. The cable handler includes spools which scoop up the cable and drag the cable along to prevent dislocation as well as preventing the cable from being snagged on any obstacles which may be present. 
   While the cable handler of the present invention can gather cable and move it from place to place, its principal use is to support the draglines and shovels (and any other equipment requiring large electrical cables) and to prevent damage to the cable by keeping adequate slack in the cable. Cable is hooked onto the spools of the cable holder so the cable may be pulled to the desired location. 
   Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views. 
       FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of an earth moving vehicle having a cable handling accessory embodying the present invention thereon. 
       FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of the cable handling accessory embodying the present invention without cable. 
       FIG. 3  is a front elevational view of the cable handling accessory embodying the present invention with cable. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to the figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a cable handling accessory  10  for supporting cables and wires such as are found at mining sites or the like. Cable handling accessory  10  comprises an earth moving vehicle  12 , such as a backhoe, or the like. Vehicle  12  has a first end  14  which is a front end when the vehicle is in use. 
   An earth moving blade moving mechanism  20  is located on the front end of the vehicle. Blade moving mechanism  20  is common to such earth moving vehicles and the details of such mechanism are not important to the present invention. As such, the details of mechanism  20  will not be claimed or discussed. Earth moving blade mechanism  20  is movable between a first position in which an earth moving blade connected to mechanism  20  is oriented at an oblique angle to the ground and a second position in which the earth moving blade connected to mechanism  20  is parallel to the ground. 
   A cable handler  30  includes a base  32  which has a first surface  34  which is a front surface when the cable handler is in use and a second surface  36  which is a rear surface when the cable handler is in use. Base  32  further includes a first side edge  38 , a second side edge  40  and a width dimension  42  which extends between first side edge  38  and second side edge  40 . Base  32  further includes a first end edge  46  which connects first side edge  38  to second side edge  38 , a second end edge  48  which connects first side edge  38  to second side edge  40  and a length dimension  50  which extends between first end edge  46  and second end edge  48 . 
   A mounting bracket  60  is located on second surface  36  of base  32  and, as indicated in  FIG. 1 , is sized and adapted to couple to the earth moving blade mechanism of the earth moving vehicle to be moved thereby. Base  32  is movable between a first position shown in  FIG. 1  in dotted lines in which a plane P 1  containing first surface  34  of base  32  is oriented at an oblique angle to the ground when the earth moving blade mechanism is in the first position thereof and a second position shown in solid lines in  FIG. 1  in which plane P 1  containing the first surface of the base is oriented to be parallel to the ground when the earth moving blade mechanism is in the second position thereof. 
   A first spool element  70  is mounted on first surface  34  of base  32  of the cable handler adjacent to first side edge  38  and adjacent to first end edge  46 . First spool element  70  includes a cylindrical base  72  having a first end  74  unitary with first surface  34  of the base of the cable handler and a second end  76  spaced apart from plane P 1  containing first surface  34 . Cylindrical base  72  has an outer dimension  78 . 
   A plate  80  is unitary with second end  76  of cylindrical base  72  and is oriented in a plane P 2  that is parallel to plane P 1 . Plate  80  has an outer dimension  82  that is larger than outer dimension  78  of cylindrical base  72 . A gap  84  is defined between plate  80  and first surface  34  of base  32 . 
   A second spool element  100  is mounted on first surface  34  of base  32  adjacent to first side edge  38  and adjacent to second end edge  48 . Second spool element  100  is spaced apart from first spool element  70  in the direction of length dimension  50  of base  32 . Second spool element  100  includes a cylindrical base  102  has a first end  104  which is unitary with first surface  34  of base  32  and a second end  106  that is spaced apart from plane P 1 . Cylindrical base  102  has an outer dimension  108 . 
   A plate  110  is unitary with second end  106  of cylindrical base  102  and is oriented in a plane P 3  that is parallel to plane P 1 . Plate  110  has an outer dimension  112  that is larger than outer dimension  108  of cylindrical base  102  of second spool element  100 . A gap  120  is defined between plate  110  and first surface  34  of base  32 . The gaps  84  and  120  are sized and adapted to accommodate cable  130  which is retained on the base of the cable handler between the first surface of the base of the cable handler and the plates of the first and second spool elements to move with the base of the cable handler. 
   Use of cable handling accessory  10  can be understood from the teaching of the foregoing disclosure and thus will be only briefly discussed. The cable handler  30  is placed on the earth moving vehicle, such as in place of the front bucket of a backhoe, and cable is attached to the spools as necessary to move the cable and to keep proper slack on the cable. 
   While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.