Material handling bucket arrangement

Claim 1

A material handling bucket comprising a pair of bucket bowls, and a power head-frame supporting said bucket bowls, comprising a substantially horizontal deck, vertical side bulkheads, vertical end bulkheads extending upwardly from said deck, and a cross beam integrally fixed to the upper edges of said end bulkheads and extending parallel to the side bulkheads, said bulkheads and said deck being connected together to form an integral water-tight box-like enclosure, each of said bowls being pivotally mounted to the lower surface of the deck of said frame to swing about a first axis adjacent the respective end bulkheads between an open position for reception of material therein and a closed position for transporting the material, a hydraulic ram positioned exterior of each of said end bulkheads in association with each of said bowls, a pair of plates straddling each of said hydraulic rams, said plates extending outward perpendicularly to the associated end bulkheads and from said cross beam to at least said deck, said plates being integrally secured to said cross beam, said end bulk heads and said deck and forming an open tunnel in which the associated hydraulic ram sits, said hydraulic rams being pivotally connected to said cross beam at one end and to the associated bowl at the other end at a second axis remote from the first axis and means for actuating each of said hydraulic rams to reciprocate each of said hydraulic rams for moving said bowls between said open and closed positions.