Dragline bucket

A bucket having drag, hoist and dump lines connected thereto comprising a unitary body having side, rear and bottom walls, said bottom walls terminating in a forward lip equipped with excavating teeth constituting the bucket tip, said bottom wall adjacent said rear wall being contoured to form a heel, said tip and heel providing the contact areas for supporting the bucket in a static condition, each of said sidewalls at the forward end thereof being equipped with a hitch providing a horizontal pivot axis for a drag chain connected to said bucket, said body having a design center of gravity located along a line connecting said center of gravity and said tip and making an angle of at least 90.degree. with a line between said tip and said horizontal pivot axis to provide a bucket having an increasing pull to tip characteristic and an arch connecting said sidewalls at the forward ends thereof.

A bucket having drag, hoist and dump lines connected thereto comprising a unitary body having side, rear and bottom walls, said bottom walls terminating in a forward lip equipped with excavating teeth constituting the bucket tip, said bottom wall adjacent said rear wall being contoured to form a heel, said tip and heel providing the contact areas for supporting the bucket in a static condition, each of said sidewalls at the forward end thereof being equipped with a hitch providing a horizontal pivot axis for a drag chain connected to said bucket, said body having a design center of gravity located along a line connecting said center of gravity and said tip and making an angle of at least 90.degree. with a line between said tip and said horizontal pivot axis to provide a bucket having an increasing pull to tip characteristic, said hitch including a pair of arms, one for each sidewall pivotally attached thereto forwardly of said center of gravity and adapted to rotate through a vertical arc.

A bucket having drag, hoist and dump lines connected thereto comprising a unitary body having side, rear and bottom walls, said bottom walls terminating in a forward lip equipped with excavating teeth constituting the bucket tip, said bottom wall adjacent said rear wall being contoured to form a heel, said tip and heel providing the contact areas for supporting the bucket in a static condition, each of said sidewalls at the forward end thereof being equipped with a hitch providing a horizontal pivot axis for a dragline connected to said bucket, said body having a design center of gravity located along a line connecting said center of gravity and said tip and making an angle from about 25.degree. to about 30.degree. with a line between tip and said heel, said center of gravity also being located so as to put from about 50% to about 60% of the bucket weight on said heel with the remainder on said tip.

A bucket having drag, hoist and dump lines connected thereto comprising a unitary body having side, rear and bottom walls, said bottom walls terminating in a forward lip equipped with excavating teeth constituting the bucket tip, said bottom wall adjacent said rear wall being contoured to form a heel, said tip and heel providing the contact areas for supporting the bucket in a static condition, each of said sidewalls at the forward end thereof being equipped with a hitch providing a horizontal pivot axis for a drag chain connected to said bucket, said body having a design center of gravity located along a line connecting said center of gravity and said tip and making an angle from about 25.degree. to about 30.degree. with a line between said tip and said heel, and rearwardly inclined arch means interconnecting said sidewalls adjacent the upper forward ends thereof.

A bucket having drag, hoist and dump lines connected thereto comprising a unitary body having side, rear and bottom walls, terminating in a forward lip equipped with excavating teeth constituting the bucket tip, said bottom wall adjacent said rear wall being contoured to form a heel, said tip and heel providing the contact areas for supporting the bucket in a static condition, each of said sidewalls at the forward end thereof being equipped with a hitch providing a horizontal pivot axis for a drag chain connected to said bucket, said body having a design center of gravity located along a line connecting said center of gravity and said tip and making an angle from about 25.degree. to about 30.degree. with a line between said tip and said heel, and movable hitch means projecting forwardly of said bucket.

A bucket having drag, hoist and dump lines connected thereto comprising a unitary body having side, rear and bottom walls, said bottom walls terminating in a forward lip equipped with excavating teeth constituting the bucket tip, said bottom wall a adjacent said rear wall being contoured to form a heel, said tip and heel providing the contact areas for supporting the bucket in a static condition, each of said sidewalls at the forward end thereof being equipped with a hitch providing a horizontal pivot axis for a drag chain connected to said bucket, said body having a design center of gravity located so as to put from about 50% to about 60% of the bucket weight on said heel with the remainder on said tip to provide a bucket with an increasing pull-to-tip characteristic.

A bucket having drag, hoist and dump lines connected thereto comprising a unitary body having side, rear and bottom walls, said bottom walls terminating in a forward lip equipped with excavating teeth constituting the bucket tip, said bottom wall a adjacent said rear wall being contoured to form a heel, said tip and heel providing the contact areas for supporting the bucket in a static condition, each of said sidewalls at the forward end thereof being equipped with a hitch providing a horizontal pivot axis for a drag chain connected to said bucket, said body having a design center of gravity located so as to put from about 50% to about 60% of the bucket weight on said heel with the remainder on said tip, said hitch including a pair of arm members pivotally connected to the outer sidewalls and projecting forwardly of said bucket.