Mining or in situ disintegration of hard material – Processes
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-12
2004-07-20
Kreck, John (Department: 3673)
Mining or in situ disintegration of hard material
Processes
C299S024000, C299S039300, C299S100000, C299S095000, C037S403000, C172S817000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06764139
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods of demolition, more particularly to a system and method of utilizing a rugged demolition attachment with a position-controlling motor vehicle, such as a skid steer loader, that can raise, lower, and provide horizontal movement for the attachment, as well as rotate the attachment according to need, whereby the sturdy pry hook assembly on the attachment in combination with its sturdy spear and one or more optional side hooks positioned between the pry hook and the spear can pull up horizontal structures such as concrete or asphalt and break it into pieces; pull over and break up vertical structures such as retaining walls and house/building walls; extract vertically extending objects such as tree roots out of the ground; and break up hard surfaces such as compacted dirt for easier grading. The pry hook assembly can be connected to the mount of the position-controlling motor vehicle, or via a tubular support structure perpendicularly depending from the front side of a plate welded to the mount. Also, it is contemplated for some embodiments of the present invention to have removable components for easy inspection, repair, and/or replacement.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many methods of demolition are known for horizontal and vertical structures. Jack hammers are commonly used to crack horizontal structures such as concrete or asphalt and the like. Buckets attached to the front of skid steer loaders are often used thereafter to pry-up the broken pieces of concrete and asphalt, etc., and move them to a remote location or to a vehicle for transport offsite. A major disadvantage of the aforementioned method of demolition for horizontal structures is that it requires the sequential use of two separate systems, a jack hammer and a skid steer loader bucket. Further, employing the skid steer loader bucket for prying use dramatically increases its risk for breakage. In contrast, the spear and pry hook assembly of the present invention, when connected to a position-controlling vehicle such as a skid steer loader, performs all of the cracking, prying, and moving functions needed for demolition of a horizontal structure and can also be used to break up hard surfaces, such as compacted dirt prior to grading. The present invention system saves time on a demolition job since it has a rugged design and construction, is made from durable materials to minimize down time attributable to breakage and/or installation of replacement parts, and is efficient to use since the prying, cracking, and moving functions can follow one another in quick succession and be repeated in any order, without the need to employ any additional pieces of equipment, such as a jack hammer.
There is also a need for demolition of vertically oriented structures such as retaining or house/building walls. However, it is often difficult to get sufficient access thereto using conventional demolition systems. Therefore, particularly in tight areas, it would be advantageous to have a system of demolition that could, in any appropriate order, break, pry-up, and move demolished parts of horizontally oriented structures, such as concrete or asphalt and the like slabs, (including hard dirt), as well as easily access vertically oriented structures such as retaining and houses/building etc. walls to pull them over and/or break them up, or extract vertically extending objects such as tree roots etc. from the ground. The present invention provides a system and method of demolition for both horizontal and vertically oriented surfaces which overcomes the disadvantages frequently experienced in many of the commonly used prior art methods and systems of demolition.
The invention thought to be the closest to the present invention is the excavator bucket assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,417 to Pratt (2001). The Pratt invention uses a bucket with at least one ripper tooth connected to the outside surface of the bucket, each ripper tooth being movable between stored and extended positions. A blade member can also interconnect a pair of ripper teeth attached to the bucket. Thus, when the Pratt bucket is rotated, the ripper tooth or teeth engage the ground for excavation purposes, after which the bucket can be used to move the excavated portions of the ground. The Pratt invention teaches its bucket assembly only being used to scoop comparatively loose soils, with the ripper tooth modification one its bucket assembly being used to loosen hard, compacted, and rocky soil. The Pratt invention does not teach its ripper or digging teeth being sufficiently sturdy for routine demolition work without breakage, or either types of teeth being used to break up anything other than rock and soil. In contrast, the present invention is a rugged demolition attachment configured for removable connection to the mount on a position-controlling motor vehicle, such as a skid steer loader, which raises, lowers, provides horizontal movement for, and rotates the attachment promptly and into the positions needed for effective demolition use. The present invention uses a pry hook assembly and a spear-like prying device, along with optional side hooks, to alternatively snag, pry up, pull over, break, crack, and move portions of horizontal and vertically oriented structures during demolition thereof, as well as break up hard surfaces such as compacted dirt and extract vertically extending objects such as tree roots from the ground. The structure of the present invention and the Pratt inventions are different, with the Pratt invention comprising a bucket with a plurality of digging teeth and a pair of ripping teeth that extend from the bucket in a direction nearly opposite that of the digging teeth, whereas the present invention demolition attachment has its spear and pry hook extending in different directions that are closer to 90° apart, rather than the nearly 180° apart that is observed in Pratt. The difference in orientation of the present invention digging and ripping components allows faster demolition than could be achieved by the Pratt invention. Although not critical, for added strength during demolition use, the pry hook assembly can be connected to its plate via a tubular support member, whereby the proximal end of the pry hook assembly is inserted within the distal end of the tubular support member and not simply attached to its outer surface. If the digging tooth, side hooks, and spear-like prying device of the present invention were connected to an excavating bucket, the Pratt invention would be validly cited as prior art. However, employment of buckets for demolition use places the buckets at an increased risk for breakage. In the alternative, the present invention provides a demolition attachment for a skid steer loader or other position-controlling vehicle that comprises a rugged plate and pry hook assembly that includes a spear-like prying device, side hooks, and a digging tooth. There is no known system and method with the same rugged features and sturdy design, or one that can provide all of the advantages of the present invention for demolition and other purposes.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Objectives and Advantages
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a demolition attachment for a position-controlling motor vehicle, such as a skid steer loader, that can alternatively snag, pry up, pull over, break, crack, and move portions of horizontal and vertically oriented structures during demolition use. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a demolition attachment for a position-controlling motor vehicle, such as a skid steer loader, that in addition to demolition use can also be used for construction site clearing and leveling use, such as the break up of compacted dirt prior to grading and the extraction vertically extending objects such as tree roots from the ground. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a demolition attachment for a position-controlling motor vehicle, such as a
Kreck John
Morse Dorothy S.
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