Excavating machinery with bucket for screening and/or mixing excavated material

An excavating bucket apparatus that is pivotally mountable on an articulating arm of a mobile vehicle and configurable for controlled, powered operation, and capable of separating the constituents of the excavated material according to their sizes, the bucket apparatus comprising:

• a. a scoop member including a frame defining a pair of spaced apart and opposed side panels, the scoop member defining a top carried by and extending between the side panels, the scoop member defining opposed ends extending transversely between the side panels at each of the respective opposite ends of the side panels, each of the opposed ends of the scoop member being open to receive and pass through material engaged by the scoop member, the scoop member defining a bottom disposed generally opposite the top and spaced apart from the top;
• b. a hitch attached to the top of the scoop member and configured for pivotal connection to the articulating arm of the mobile vehicle;
• c. a first digging edge carried on a first one of the opposed ends of the scoop member and configured to cut into the material to be excavated, a second digging edge carried on a second one of the opposed ends of the scoop member and configured to cut into the material to be excavated;
• and
• d. a screening mechanism carried by the frame and disposed generally at the bottom of the scoop member, the screening mechanism defining a generally banana-shaped profile.

An excavating bucket apparatus that is pivotally mountable on an articulating arm of a mobile vehicle and configurable for controlled, powered operation, the bucket apparatus comprising:

• a. a scoop member including a frame defining a pair of spaced apart and opposed side panels, the scoop member defining a top configured for pivotal connection to the articulating arm of the mobile vehicle, the scoop member defining opposed ends extending transversely between the side panels at each of the respective opposite ends of the side panels, each of the opposed ends of the scoop member being open to receive and pass through material engaged by the scoop member, the scoop member defining a bottom disposed generally opposite the top;
• b. a screening mechanism carried by the frame and disposed generally at the bottom of the scoop member;
• c. a vibratory mechanism carried by the frame and connected to the screening mechanism and configured for shaking the screening mechanism;
• and
• d. a damping mechanism carried by the frame and disposed between the frame and the vibratory mechanism and configured for reducing the shaking of the frame by the vibratory mechanism when the vibratory mechanism is shaking the screening mechanism;
• wherein the damping mechanism includes:
• a. at least one resiliently deformable member carried by the frame and disposed between the bottom of the scoop member and the screening mechanism and configured for limiting movement of the screening mechanism closer than a predetermined distance toward the bottom of the scoop member;
• and
• b. at least one resiliently deformable member carried by the frame and disposed between the bottom of the scoop member and the screening mechanism and configured for limiting movement of the screening mechanism farther than a predetermined distance away from the bottom of the scoop member.

An excavating bucket apparatus that is pivotally mountable on an articulating arm of a mobile vehicle and configurable for controlled, powered operation, the bucket apparatus comprising:

• a. a scoop member including a frame defining a pair of spaced apart and opposed side panels, the scoop member defining a top configured for pivotal connection to the articulating arm of the mobile vehicle, the scoop member defining opposed ends extending transversely between the side panels at each of the respective opposite ends of the side panels, each of the opposed ends of the scoop member being open to receive and pass through material engaged by the scoop member, the scoop member defining a bottom disposed generally opposite the top;
• b. a screening mechanism carried by the frame and disposed generally at the bottom of the scoop member;
• c. a vibratory mechanism carried by the frame and connected to the screening mechanism and configured for shaking the screening mechanism;
• and
• d. a damping mechanism carried by the frame and disposed between the frame and the vibratory mechanism and configured for reducing the shaking of the frame by the vibratory mechanism when the vibratory mechanism is shaking the screening mechanism;
• wherein the damping mechanism includes:
• a. at least one resiliently deformable member carried by the frame and disposed between the bottom of the scoop member and the screening mechanism and configured for absorbing the momentum of movements of the screening mechanism directed toward the bottom of the scoop member;
• and
• b. at least one resiliently deformable member carried by the frame and disposed between the bottom of the scoop member and the screening mechanism and configured for absorbing the momentum of movements of the screening mechanism directed away from the bottom of the scoop member.