Patent ID: 7108450

Claim:
A drag box for placing an asphalt mixture on a surface, said drag box adapted to be coupled with a prime mover for pulling said drag box over said surface, said drag box comprising: a framework adapted to be pulled behind said prime mover, said framework adapted to be coupled with said prime mover to accommodate floating vertical movement independent of said prime mover; a non-rigid connecting structure coupled with said framework for coupling said framework with said prime mover; a device coupled with said framework for distributing said asphalt mixture over said surface; a blade capable of shearing asphalt mounted on said framework for forming a substantially planar asphalt surface after said asphalt mixture has been distributed over said surface, said blade being moveable in a vertical plane independent of said prime mover; a proximity control device mounted on said framework and coupled with said blade for raising and lowering said blade in response to elevational changes in said surface; at least one signal generator associated with said proximity control device for producing a signal indicative of the elevation of said surface; and at least one signal receiver associated with said proximity control device for activating said proximity control device in response to a signal emanating from said signal generator.