US3637024A — Tractor mounted, ground-raking and rock-gathering…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 170 words

Ground-raking and rock-gathering apparatus comprising, in combination with a tractor having a material-handling bucket: a. a rotatably mounted, endless support having a plurality of laterally spaced raking teeth mounted thereon, b. pivotal mounting means mounting one end of the support on the bucket with the support arranged with a lower elongated run extending forwardly of the bucket substantially parallel to the ground for ground engagement of the teeth, a rearward elongated run extending angularly upward and rearward from the lower run into the bucket for delivery to the bucket of solid objects collected by the lower run, and an upper run extending between the upper end of the rearward run and forward end of the lower run, c. drive means connected to the support for driving it in a rotational direction predetermined to move the lower run in the direction of the bucket, and d. elevating means connected to the support for moving it angularly about the pivotal mounting means between the operative, ground-engaging position and an inoperative, raised position.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 170 words

Ground-raking and rock-gathering apparatus comprising, in combination with a tractor having a material-handling bucket: a. a rotatably mounted, endless support having a plurality of laterally spaced raking teeth mounted thereon, b. pivotal mounting means mounting one end of the support on the bucket with the support arranged with a lower elongated run extending forwardly of the bucket substantially parallel to the ground for ground engagement of the teeth, a rearward elongated run extending angularly upward and rearward from the lower run into the bucket for delivery to the bucket of solid objects collected by the lower run, and an upper run extending between the upper end of the rearward run and forward end of the lower run, c. drive means connected to the support for driving it in a rotational direction predetermined to move the lower run in the direction of the bucket, and d. elevating means connected to the support for moving it angularly about the pivotal mounting means between the operative, ground-engaging position and an inoperative, raised position.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 159 words

For use with a tractor having a material-handling bucket including a pair of spaced sidewalls, a ground-raking and rock-gathering attachment comprising: a. a rotatably mounted endless flexible support, b. a plurality of raking teeth, c. teeth mounting means mounting the teeth on the support, d. support mounting means pivotally mounting one end of the support between the sidewalls, the support being arranged with a lower elongated run extending forwardly of the bucket substantially parallel to the ground for ground engagement of the teeth, a rearward elongated run extending angularly upward and rearward from the lower run into the bucket for delivery to the bucket of solid objects collected by the lower run, and an upper run extending between the upper end of the rearward run and the forward end of the lower run, and e. drive means connected to the support for driving in a rotational direction predetermined to move the lower run in the direction of the bucket.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 159 words

For use with a tractor having a material-handling bucket including a pair of spaced sidewalls, a ground-raking and rock-gathering attachment comprising: a. a rotatably mounted endless flexible support, b. a plurality of raking teeth, c. teeth mounting means mounting the teeth on the support, d. support mounting means pivotally mounting one end of the support between the sidewalls, the support being arranged with a lower elongated run extending forwardly of the bucket substantially parallel to the ground for ground engagement of the teeth, a rearward elongated run extending angularly upward and rearward from the lower run into the bucket for delivery to the bucket of solid objects collected by the lower run, and an upper run extending between the upper end of the rearward run and the forward end of the lower run, and e. drive means connected to the support for driving in a rotational direction predetermined to move the lower run in the direction of the bucket.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 31 words

The attachment of claim 2 including elevating means connected to the support for moving it angularly about the pivotal mounting means between the operative, ground-engaging position and an elevated, inoperative position.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 54 words

The attachment of claim 3 wherein the elevating means comprises a fluid-operated drive cylinder mounted on the bucket, spring-loaded, cushioning cylinder means connected to the support, and pulley and cable means interconnecting the drive cylinder and the cushioning cylinder, the cushioning cylinder being arranged to support the flexible support resiliently in said operative position.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 64 words

The attachment of claim 2 wherein the support comprises a pair of sprocket-mounted, horizontally spaced, endless chains and a plurality of transverse, parallel spaced bars mounted across the chains and in turn mounting the raking teeth, the tooth mounting means comprising a plurality of openings through the bars, each opening receiving one of the teeth, and clamp means clamping the teeth to the bars.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 103 words

The attachment of claim 2 wherein the support comprises a pair of sprocket-mounted, horizontally spaced, endless chains and a plurality of transverse, parallel spaced bars mounted across the chains and in turn mounting the raking teeth, wherein the teeth have angularly bent shank portions and the bars have openings therethrough, each of the openings receiving one of the teeth with the shank portion thereon lying along the exterior surface of its respective bar, and including channel-shaped plates receiving the shank portions of all of the teeth, anD clamp means clamping the plates to the bars, thereby demountably mounting the teeth on the bars.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 15 words

The attachment of claim 6 wherein the clamp means comprises threaded nut and yoke means.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 32 words

The attachment of claim 2 wherein the support mounting means comprises a shaft rotatably mounted across the sidewalls of the bucket and the drive means comprises power means connected to the shaft.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 58 words

The attachment of claim 2 wherein the support mounting means includes a pair of vertical, laterally spaced plates, one on each side of the support means, and guide means mounted between the plates is inclined upwardly and inwardly into the bucket from the lower front end thereof for guiding solid objects raked by the teeth into the bucket.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 27 words

The attachment of claim 2 wherein the endless support is adjustable vertically relative to the ground in the area between the lower run and the rearward run.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1975-01-24	1975-07-26	1976-01-25	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1979-01-24	1979-07-26	1980-01-25	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1983-01-24	1983-07-26	1984-01-25	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Tractor mounted, ground-raking and rock-gathering apparatus

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