Road CRAB

摘要

The Road CRAB is road construction equipment used to remove road reflectors. This machine includes a manually operated blade that moves up and down, two hitches, one off set to the driver's side, and one that raises the front to wheels off the ground. It does not have a motor and is towed with a standard ball hitch on any work truck. When in use it has all four wheels on the ground with an operator (person) raising and lowering the blade with a handle. When being towed to and from job sites the travel hitch raises the front two wheels off the ground so it is easily towed on the back two wheels.

主权项

1. We claim that our two specially designed hitches as (shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 and FIG. 10) are unique to our Road CRAB reflector removal machine and that the design and function of our blade and its connecting arms, assembly unit, and handle are also unique to our machine. The location of our blade assembly unit is also specific to this machine as it is off set from the center towards the left front wheel to allow our machines blade to be positioned over the road centerline while the majority of the machine stays in the right hand lane.
1.1. Our Travel Tow Hitch (shown in FIG. 8) has a specific downward angle near the neck of the hitch on the end that attaches to the ball on the towing truck. Which when installed to both the machine and truck raises the front two wheels of our machine off the ground. When the other end is placed into the machine the hitch angles down to the ground so when it is raised to attach to a truck for towing it forces the machine upward and supports the front of the machine while towing. This hitch has a reinforced steel gusset so it can support the weight of our machine off the ground. This turns our four-wheeled machine into a two-wheeled easily towed machine. This hitch design is unique and essential to the use of this machine. Our Road CRAB machine also has a special mounting bracket on the side of the machine for easy storage of this hitch when not in use. This hitch mounts to the bottom front and center of our machine so when in use the machine tows directly behind the towing truck. It slides into the machine with a square tubing end held in place by hitch pins and safety chains. The other end has a standard ball attachment to fit any truck ball. This hitch is also wired with a plug for lights on both sides so it can plug into the machine and into the towing truck and be completely unplugged and disconnected for storage. 1.2. Our Operational Hitch (shown in FIG. 6) and as the alternative design (shown FIG. 10), is especially designed to off set to the driver side, for operational use. With this hitch the unit has all four wheels on the ground the driver can see the operations of the unit over the center line of the road while keeping the towing truck in the right lane. It also has a special pivot design where it connects to the main frame of our machine so it can be raised out of the way and locked for travel. This pivot connection is attached to the machine in the front bottom of the frame close to both front corners. This is a three point hitch, with two swivel points permanently attached to our machine, and one ball head contact locking on to the truck. Made of square steel tubing, with cross bars and specific angles it is designed to tow the Road Crab to the left of the truck and handle the impact or jarring of hitting the road reflectors. This hitch is designed for low speed and constant impacts. This hitch is attached to the towing truck with a standard ball hitch head, which is welded on to our hitch design.