Patent ID: 7757778

Claim:
A ripper boot, comprising: a replaceable ripping tooth and an associated socket in a ripper boot carrier; said replaceable ripping tooth being secured within said ripper boot carrier by way of an interference fit so that during use said replaceable ripping tooth does not rotate; said interference fit prevents particulate matter from entering between walls of said tooth and said associated socket; said tooth has a tapered shank; said socket has a tapered bore to mate with said tapered shank; said tooth has a substantially conical outer shape and terminates in a tip; said tip is fabricated from a high tensile material; retaining means for retaining said tooth in said carrier; loosening means for loosening said tooth from said carrier; wherein: said carrier is adapted to be fixedly connected to a shank of a powered vehicle; said tooth includes a head being constructed at least partially of high tensile material; said carrier and said tooth engage by a mating relationship between said socket and said correspondingly shaped tooth shank, said socket and tapered shank being inwardly tapered to thereby establish a taper lock between the carrier and tooth, said tooth being removable from the carrier when said taper lock is broken; said inwardly tapered socket forms part of a tooth housing portion in said carrier, and said correspondingly shaped tooth shank forms part of the tooth; the tooth shank and tooth housing portion include transverse channels extending therethrough, which become co-axially aligned when the tooth shank is engaged within said socket, to allow for insertion of a retaining pin; the head of the tooth includes an outwardly extending shoulder adapted to facilitate removal of the tooth; and said tooth housing portion includes an ejection hole which extends from an exterior of the boot to a base area of said socket enabling ejection of the tooth using an appropriate tool.