Patent Abstract:
A tractor-based box blade is used to move and condition soil. The box blade has a plurality of rippers, which are forwardly- and downwardly-extending shanks terminating in relatively narrow teeth that extend into the ground. Each ripper is deployable to extend into the ground independent of the other rippers, and each ripper is stowable away from the ground independent of the other rippers. At least one scraping blade is disposed behind the rippers for smoothing soil.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/351,401 filed on Jun. 4, 2010, the entire contents of which is herein incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of tractor-based, three-point hitch equipment, and more particularly relates to a box blade with individual flip-over rippers. 
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A tractor-based box blade is provided. The box blade attaches to the standard three point hitch of the tractor and is used to move and condition soil. Traditional box blades have rippers that extend forwardly at the front of the box blade for loosening soil and scraping blades at the rear of the box blade for scraping and smoothing soil. The rippers are generally attached to a fixed beam that extends to the sides of the box blade. 
     In some prior art box blades, the beam containing the rippers is rotatable such that the rippers may be rotated up, or stowed, so that they cannot contact the soil. These box blades have the limitation that the rippers are rigidly affixed to the ripper support beam such that the entire beam has to rotate in order to stow the rippers. 
     The box blade according to the present disclosure comprises individually rotatable rippers that are each rotatably affixed to a support beam. Each ripper may be independently flipped over, or rotated, from a deployed position in which it contacts the ground, to a stowed position. Eliminating the need for a rotating ripper support beam allows for the ripper support beam to also be part of the main structural support of the box blade, resulting in a stronger box blade with fewer moving parts. 
     For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Furthermore, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of an exemplary box blade in accordance with the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a side plan view of the box blade of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a side plan view of an exemplary ripper, horizontal support beam, and bracket, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which the ripper is in a fully deployed position. 
         FIG. 4  is a side plan view of the ripper, horizontal support beam, and bracket of  FIG. 3 , just before the ripper is rotated to a stowed position. 
         FIG. 5  is a side plan view of the ripper, horizontal support beam, and bracket of  FIG. 3 , during rotation of the ripper to a stowed position. 
         FIG. 6  is a side plan view of the ripper, horizontal support beam, and bracket of  FIG. 3 , after the ripper has been rotated to its stowed position. 
         FIG. 7  is a side plan view of the ripper, horizontal support beam, and bracket of  FIG. 3 , after the ripper has been locked into its stowed position. 
         FIG. 8  is a front plan view of the box blade of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 9  is a front plan view of the box blade of  FIG. 1 , with the rippers in their stowed position. 
         FIG. 10  is a side plan view of the box blade of  FIG. 1 , with the rippers in their stowed position. 
         FIG. 11  is a top plan view of the box blade of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 12  is a side plan view of a ripper according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a box blade  10  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The box blade  10  comprises a plurality of rippers  11  extending downwardly and forwardly from a horizontal support beam  18 . Each ripper  11  comprises a forwardly extending ripper shank  12  and a tooth  13 . The tooth  13  comprises a generally flat angled blade portion extending downwardly at an angle as shown. The teeth  13  can be replaced when they are worn or damaged. 
     Each ripper shank  12  extends downwardly from the horizontal support beam and curves to extend forwardly as shown and terminates at the tooth  13 . Although the illustrated embodiment depicts three rippers  11  in the box blade  10 , more or fewer rippers  11  may be provided without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The horizontal support beam  18  is generally horizontal when the box blade  10  is disposed upon a flat surface (not shown). In use, the box blade  10  may be tilted such that the horizontal support beam is not horizontal. 
     The box blade  10  further comprises a support frame  99  comprising a rear side  30 . The rear side  30  extends generally parallel to the horizontal support beam  18  in the illustrated embodiment. A right side  16  extends forwardly and generally perpendicularly from the rear side  30 . A left side  17  extends forwardly and generally perpendicularly from the rear side  30 . The horizontal support beam  18  extends between and is rigidly connected to the right side  16  and the left side  17 . The right and left sides  16  and  17  each comprise a flat plate of material such as sheet metal. The frontward edges  24  of the right and left sides  16  and  17  are rounded as shown in this embodiment. 
     The horizontal support beam  18  comprises a hollow rectangular tube in the illustrated embodiment, but may be differently shaped in other embodiments. The horizontal support beam  18  further comprises a plurality of brackets  14  which rotatably receive the rippers  11 . In this regard, each ripper  11  has a corresponding bracket  14  which is rigidly affixed to the horizontal support beam  18 . In the illustrated embodiment, each bracket  14  comprises two (2) outwardly extending tabs  22  spaced apart from one another. The tabs  22  receive an upper end  23  of the shank  12  of the ripper  11 , which upper end  23  fits between the tabs  22 . A fastener  15  passes through openings (not shown) in the tabs  22  and a slot (not shown) in the upper end  23  and rotatably affixes the upper end  23  to the bracket  14 . 
     Each ripper  11  may be rotated within the bracket  14  from a deployed position with the ripper tooth  13  down, as shown, to a stowed position with the ripper up, as further disclosed herein. 
     The box blade  10  further comprises a lift frame  19  that connects to a tractor (not shown). The lift frame  19  comprises two lift arms  20  and  21  which connect to support beams  25  and  26 , respectively. In the illustrated embodiment, support beams  25  and  26  are spaced apart from one another and extend generally perpendicularly from the rear side  30  of the box blade  10 . Support beams  25  and  26  comprise L-shaped angle iron or the equivalent in this embodiment. 
     The lift arms  20  and  21  are thin angled braces that rigidly affixed to the support beams  25  and  26 , respectively, by welding, for example. The lift arms  20  and  21  extend from the support beams  25  and  26  upwardly and inwardly at an angle toward one another and terminate in a spaced-apart relationship maintained by a spacer pin  31 . 
     The lift frame  19  is connectable to the tractor&#39;s standard three point hitch (not shown) that is known in the art. The three point hitch connects at its topmost point (not shown) to the box blade  10  via a lift pin (not shown) which connects at a top of the three point hitch to an upper pin (not shown) passing through upper lift arm openings  27  of the lift arms  20  and  21 . The lower two points (not shown) of the three point hitch connects to the frame  19  via lift pins  28  (disposed on support beam  25 ) and  29  (disposed on support beam  26 ). 
       FIG. 2  is a right side perspective view of the box blade  10  of  FIG. 1 . The right side guard  16  is generally a mirror image of the left side guard  17 , and comprises a generally thin and flat plate. The right side guard  16  is rigidly affixed, by welding, for example, to the rear side  30  of the box blade  10  and also to the horizontal support beam  18 . In this embodiment, the right side guard  16  comprises a generally flat bottom side  33  and a generally flat top side  34  which are generally perpendicular to a generally straight rear side  35 . The frontward edge  24  has rounded corners  73  and  74  as shown. 
     The rear side  30  of the box blade  10  extends downwardly and forwardly and terminates in an inverted Y-shape in which a forward rear blade shaft  37  angles forward and a rearward rear blade shaft  38  angles rearward. The forward rear blade shaft  37  and the rearward rear blade shaft  38  are formed from a single piece of angle iron turned with its “legs” downward in one embodiment. 
     The forward rear blade shaft  37  and the rearward rear blade shaft  38  each support a scraping blade  39  that extends across the width of the box blade  10 . The scraping blades  39  affix to the blade shafts  37  and  38  via a plurality of fasteners  40 , and therefore the blades  39  are replaceable when damaged or worn. 
     The lift arm  20  extends upwardly from the support beam  25  at the frontward portion of the support beam  25  and is somewhat trapezoidal in shape. A top support plate  77  extends between the lift arm  20  and the lift arm  21  ( FIG. 1 ). The lift pin  28  extends outwardly generally perpendicularly to the support beam  25 . 
     In its deployed position as shown, the ripper  11  is positioned such that the ripper tooth  13  is contactable with and extends into a surface  41 , for example, a surface of ground. The rippers  11  (only one of which is shown in  FIG. 2 ) lie in generally the same plane when they are in the deployed position, i.e., front edges  88  of the teeth of the rippers are generally aligned with one another. The tractor (not shown) moves in the direction shown by directional arrow  72 , pulling the box blade  10  behind it. 
     The scraping blades  39  extend downwardly slightly below the bottom side  33  of the side guard  16  in the illustrated embodiment. Further, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the ripper  11  and the tooth  13  extend downwardly further than the scraping blades  39 . This configuration is desired because the rippers  11  may be used to break up ground that the scraping blades  39  then smooth, i.e., the rippers  11  are desired to extend further into the ground than are the scraping blades  39 . 
     The ripper  11  is rotatable in the direction indicated by directional arrow  32  to achieve a stowed position (as shown in  FIG. 3 ), as further discussed herein. In this regard, the ripper shank  12  rotates within the bracket  14  about the fastener  15  until the shank  12  is either in a stowed or a deployed position, as further illustrated in  FIGS. 3-6 . 
       FIG. 3  is a side view of the ripper  11 , the horizontal support beam  18 , and the bracket  14  with the ripper  11  in a deployed position, i.e., with the ripper  11  down and contactable with the ground (not shown). The ripper shank  12  comprises an elongated slot  42  extending through the shank  12 . The shank  12  fits between the tabs  22  (only one of which is shown, in dashed lines) of the bracket  14 . The slot  42  receives the fastener  15  that rotatably affixes the ripper  11  to the tabs  22  of the bracket  14 . 
     In the deployed position, when the tractor (not shown) is moving in the +x direction, the force of the ground on the ripper tooth  13  is generally in the −x direction. This force maintains the ripper  11  in the deployed position as shown. The ripper  11  is prevented from further rotation in the clockwise direction by contact between a rear edge  45  of the ripper shank  12  with the vertical wall  44  of the horizontal support beam  18 . 
     Further, in the deployed position, the ripper  11  is generally prevented from rotation in the counterclockwise direction by the force of the ground pushing upwards on the ripper  11 . In this regard, the ground will generally push the ripper  11  upwards such that the fastener  15  is positioned at a bottom portion  52  of the slot  42 , as shown. In this position the rear edge  45  of the ripper shank  12  will contact the vertical wall  44  of the horizontal support beam  18  and will not be rotatable because a distance “d 2 ” between the fastener  15 , around which the ripper  11  rotates, and a top  48  of the shank  12  is larger than the distance “d 1 ” between the fastener  15  and the vertical wall  44  of the horizontal support beam  18 . 
       FIG. 4  depicts the ripper  11  of  FIG. 3 , after the ripper has been pulled downward (in the −y direction) in order to begin rotation of the ripper  11  to a stowed position. In order to stow the ripper  11 , the user (not shown) would generally need to raise the box blade  10  such that the ripper  11  does not contact the ground. Then the user can pull the ripper  11  downward until a top portion  53  of the slot  42  contacts the fastener  15 . At this point, the distance “d 3 ” between the fastener  15  and the top  48  of the shank  12  is less than the distance “d 1 ” between the fastener  15  and the vertical wall  44  of the horizontal support beam  18 . The ripper  11  can then be rotated in the counterclockwise direction, i.e., the direction indicated by directional arrow  47 . 
       FIG. 5  depicts the ripper  11  of  FIG. 3  during rotation of the ripper  11  from a deployed position ( FIG. 3 ) to a fully stowed position ( FIG. 6 ). Note that the top  48  of the shank  12  is rounded and generally smooth to maintain sufficient clearance between the shank  12  and the horizontal support beam  18  so that the shank  12  is not impeded from rotation by contact with the horizontal support beam  18 . During rotation of the ripper  11 , the ripper  11  is rotatable both clockwise and counterclockwise, as shown by directional arrow  49 . 
       FIG. 6  depicts the ripper  11  of  FIG. 3  after the ripper  11  has fully rotated to its deployed position. The ripper  11  will be prevented from further rotation in the counterclockwise direction when a front edge  51  of the shank  12  contacts the vertical wall  44  of the horizontal support beam  18 . In this position, the ripper  11  can be “locked” into position by pushing the shank  12  downward (i.e., in the direction indicated by directional arrow  50 ), such that the slot  42  of the shank  12  “slides” along the fastener  15  until the fastener  15  contacts the bottom portion  52  of the slot  42 . 
       FIG. 7  depicts the ripper  11  of  FIG. 1  after the ripper  11  is locked into its deployed position as discussed with respect to  FIG. 6  above. At this point the ripper  11  will be prevented from further rotation in the clockwise direction because the distance “d 4 ” between the fastener  15  and the top  48  of the shank  12  is larger than the distance “d 1 ” between the fastener  15  and the vertical wall  44  of the horizontal support beam  18 . In order to “unlock” the ripper  11  to return it to a deployed position, the user simply pulls upward (i.e., in the direction shown by directional arrow  54 ) on the shank  12  until the fastener  15  contacts the top portion  53  of the slot  42 , as shown in  FIG. 6 , then rotates the shank  12  clockwise to a deployed position. 
       FIG. 8  depicts a front view of the box blade  10  of  FIG. 1 , with the rippers  11  in the fully deployed position. In this embodiment, the rippers  11  are spaced equally apart from one another. Each ripper  11  is rotatably retained by its bracket  14 . Each bracket  14  comprises two outwardly extending tabs  22  spaced apart to receive the shank  12  between them. In the illustrated embodiment, each bracket is comprised of two (2) pieces of angle iron welded to the horizontal support beam  18 . 
     The fastener  15  extends through the tabs  22  and rotatably retains the shank  12  of the ripper  11 . In this regard, the shank  12  may rotate freely around the fastener  15  unless impeded by the horizontal support beam  18 , as discussed above with respect to  FIGS. 3-7 . 
     The lift frame  19  is comprised of lift arms  20  and  21 , which are welded to support beams  25  and  26 , respectively, at the lower ends of the lift arms  20  and  21 . Supports  56  are flat pieces of material such as sheet metal welded to the frontmost ends of the support beams  25  and  26  and to the lift arms  20  and  21  as shown, to provide additional structural support to the lift frame  19 . A top support  57  extends between and is welded to the lift arms  20  and  21 . The top support  57  is a trapezoidal piece of hollow rectangular tubing in this embodiment, as further illustrated in  FIG. 10 . 
     Two support tubes  55  extend from the top of the horizontal support beam  18  upwardly to the top support  57 . The support tubes  55  are comprised of hollow rectangular tubing in this embodiment. The support tubes  55  are spaced apart from one another such that when the rippers  11  are stowed, the centermost ripper  58  extends between the support tubes  55 , as further illustrated in  FIG. 9 . In this manner, the lift frame  19  provides sufficient clearance for the ripper  11  to be stowed without interfering with the lift frame. 
     The scraping blade  39  extends horizontally across the forward rear blade shaft  37  and provides a wide scraping surface for working the ground (not shown). In the illustrated embodiment each tooth  13  is generally one and a half inches wide; in other embodiments, the teeth are differently dimensioned. However, in general, the teeth are fairly narrow in comparison with the width of the scraping blade  39 . 
       FIG. 9  is a front view of the box blade  10  of  FIG. 1 , with the rippers  11  in their stowed position. In this position, the central ripper  58  is shown extending between the two support tubes  55 , as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 10  is a side view of the box blade  10  of  FIG. 1 , with the rippers  11  in their stowed position. The support tubes  55  (only one of which is shown in  FIG. 10 ), extend upwardly and at an angle from the horizontal support beam  18  to the top support  57 . The top support  57  is comprised of hollow rectangular tubing in one embodiment, with a bottom side  59  that is welded to the support tubes  55 . 
       FIG. 11  is a top view of the box blade  10  of  FIG. 1 , with the rippers  11  in their deployed position. The lift pins  28  and  29  extend outwardly from the support beams  25  and  26  and are releasably connectable to the bottom two points (not shown) of the tractor&#39;s three point hitch (not shown). The spacer pin  31  extends between and is releasably affixed to the lift arms  20  and  21 . The top support plate  77  extends between and is rigidly affixed to the lift arms  20  and  21 . In the illustrated embodiment, the top support plate  77  is affixed to the lift arms by welding. 
       FIG. 12  is a side plan view of the ripper  11  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The slot  42  is an elongated opening formed by a generally semi-circular top portion  53 , a generally semi-circular bottom portion  52 , and generally straight sides  80  and  80  extending between the top portion  53  and the bottom portion  52 .

Technology Classification (CPC): 4