MATERIAL HANDLER SKIP PAN
A skip pan for handling materials comprising a base of the skip pan for containing the materials. The bridge has two arms (left, right) for connecting to the base and, at an upper end thereof, a connecting portion for connecting to an arm of a material handler for displacement of the skip pan, wherein the connecting portion is rotatable along a vertical axis thereof to provide a spinning movement to the bridge. The bridge is used for holding the base and thereby transmit the spinning movement to the base of the skip pan. An actuator comprises a left hydraulic cylinder on a left side of the bridge, and a right hydraulic cylinder on a right side of the bridge to keep the base of the skip pan balanced when the connecting portion is tilted by the arm of the material handler.
1 . A skip pan for handling materials comprising:
a base of the skip pan for containing the materials;
a bridge having, at an upper end thereof, a connecting portion for connecting to an arm of a material handler for displacement of the skip pan, wherein the connecting portion is rotatable along a vertical axis thereof to provide a spinning movement to the bridge, the bridge being used for holding the base and thereby transmit the spinning movement to the base of the skip pan; and
an actuator to keep the base of the skip pan balanced when undergoing the displacement by the arm of the material handler, wherein the actuator comprises a left hydraulic cylinder on a left side of the bridge, and a right hydraulic cylinder on a right side of the bridge.
2 . The skip pan of claim 1 , wherein the base of the skip pan has a portion of a contour thereof having walls, and a remainder of the contour thereof has a wall-less edge.
3 . The skip pan of claim 2 , wherein the contour of the base of the skip pan has four sides, comprising the left-side one of the walls of the base, the right-side walls of the base, a rear wall together forming said contour of the base having walls, a front side of the base forming the remainder of the contour of the base of the skip pan and being the wall-less edge.
4 . The skip pan of claim 3 , wherein there are two arms of the bridge, respectively on a left side of the bridge and a right side of the bridge and respectively connecting to the left-side wall and to the right-side wall of the base.
5 . The skip pan of claim 4 , wherein upon actuating the left hydraulic cylinder on the left side of the bridge, and the right hydraulic cylinder on the right side of the bridge, an inclination of the base of the skip pan is adjusted.
6 . The skip pan of claim 5 , further comprising a controller which controls the actuator to adjust the inclination of the base of the skip pan with respect to the connecting portion of the bridge to keep the base balanced when the connecting portion is tilted by the arm of the material handler.
7 . The skip pan of claim 1 , wherein there are two arms of the bridge, respectively on a left side of the bridge and a right side of the bridge and respectively connecting to a left-side wall and to a right-side wall of the base, respectively.
8 . The skip pan of claim 7 , wherein upon actuating the left hydraulic cylinder on the left side of the bridge, and the right hydraulic cylinder on the right side of the bridge, an inclination of the base of the skip pan is adjusted.
9 . The skip pan of claim 8 , further comprising a controller which controls the actuator to adjust the inclination of the base of the skip pan with respect to the connecting portion of the bridge to keep the base balanced when the connecting portion is tilted by the arm of the material handler.
10 . The skip pan of claim 1 , wherein the connecting portion at the upper end of the bridge comprises at least one of: hydraulic tubing and electrical connection passing therethrough to power the actuator of the skip pan.
11 . The skip pan of claim 2 , wherein the actuator adjusts an inclination of the base of the skip pan which moves the wall-less edge up or down.
12 . The skip pan of claim 2 , wherein the base of the skip pan has a surface for containing the materials which is flat and continuous.
13 . The skip pan of claim 12 , wherein the base of the skip pan comprises side bumps forming an abutment, by the surface which is flat and continuous, for corresponding portions of a truck to stop a truck entering into the skip pan at a position defined by said abutment.