REVERSIBLE BUCKET

Abstract

An assembly comprising an excavation bucket and a bracket to mount the excavation bucket thereto, wherein the assembly allows to selectively mount the excavation bucket to an articulated arm with the receptacle of the excavation bucket facing frontward or facing rearward.

Claims

1. A bracket for reversibly mounting an excavation bucket on a coupler of an articulated arm, the coupler comprising a first shaft with mounting disks secured thereto and a second shaft with abutting members mounted thereto, the bracket comprising: a body extending along a first plane between a frontmost position and a rearmost position, the body comprising a mounting edge for adjoining the bracket to the excavation bucket; a rear recess located about the rearmost position, the rear recess comprising an arched rear wall defining a rear room, a rear opening providing access to the rear room, the rear opening being oriented substantially away from the frontmost position; a front recess located about the frontmost position, the front recess comprising an arched front wall defining a front room, a front opening providing access to the front room, the front opening being oriented substantially away from the rearmost position; a central recess comprising at least one central wall each defining a central room, each of the least one central wall having a central opening oriented substantially away the mounting edge, wherein the bracket is adapted for any of the front room and the rear room to receive one of the mounting disks of the coupler, and for at least one of the at least one central room to receive one of the abutting members of the coupler whereby mounting the bucket to the coupler either frontwards or rearwards.

2. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the coupler comprises a securing pin, the bracket comprising a first hole and a second hole adapted for one of the holes to insert the securing pin therethrough when the bucket is mounted thereto.

3. The bracket of claim 2, wherein the holes are located between the rear opening and the front opening.

4. The bracket of claim 3, wherein the holes are located between an axis joining the front room and the rear room, and the mounting edge.

5. The bracket of claim 1, wherein at least one of the rear arched wall and the front arched wall extends over 120 degrees.

6. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the rear arched wall extends around a first axis, the front arched wall extends around a second axis, and the at least one central wall is an arched wall that extends around a third axis, and wherein a straight line joins the first axis, the second axis and the third axis.

7. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the rear arched wall extend around a first axis, the front arched wall extends around a second axis, and the at least one central wall is an arched wall that extends around a third axis, and wherein the third axis is distant to a straight line joining the first axis to the second axis of at most 20% of a distance between the first axis and the second axis.

8. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the bracket comprises locking enclosures neighboring the front room and the rear room in-between the mounting edge, each one of the locking enclosures having an opening facing away to a most-distant one among the frontmost location and the rearmost location, each one of the locking enclosures comprising a wall section about its neighboring room adapted to be abutted by a blocking bar of the coupler, wherein, when a locking enclosure and its neighboring room are housing one of the mounting disks and the blocking bar, the bracket is gripped in-between.

9. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the abutting members have a cylindrical shape, and the at least one central wall comprises at least one central arched wall.

10. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the at least one central arched wall consists in a single central arched wall.

11. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the central arched wall extends over 120 degrees.

12. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the at least one central arched wall comprises two central arched walls.

13. The bracket of claim 1, wherein each one of the two central arched walls extends over 120 degrees.

14. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the at least one central room comprises two central rooms, the body further comprising a lug extending between the two central rooms, the lug extending away to the mounting edge.

15. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the abutting members have a non-cylindrical shape.

16. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the at least one central room comprises a front wall section, a bottom wall section and a rear wall section, a front join where the front wall section adjoins the bottom wall section, a rear join where the rear wall section joins the bottom wall section, wherein the bottom wall section is a non- straight wall section comprises an apex extending away from the mounting edge beyond a plane extending between the front join and the rear join.

17. A kit for an excavator having an articulated arm, the kit comprising: a coupler adapted to mount to the articulated arm, the coupler comprising a first shaft with mounting disks secured thereto and a second shaft with abutting members mounted thereto; an excavator bucket assembly comprising a bucket and brackets secured thereto, the brackets extending parallel to one another, each of the brackets comprising: a body extending along a first plane between a frontmost position and a rearmost position, the body comprising a mounting edge adjoining the bracket to the bucket; a rear recess located about the rearmost position, the rear recess comprising an arched rear wall defining a rear room, a rear opening providing access to the rear room, the rear opening being oriented substantially away from the frontmost position; a front recess located about the frontmost position, the front recess comprising an arched front wall defining a front room, a front opening providing access to the front room, the front opening being oriented substantially away from the rearmost position; and a central recess comprising at least one central wall each defining a central room, each of the least one central wall having a central opening oriented substantially away the mounting edge, wherein the brackets are adapted for any of the front room and the rear room to receive one of the mounting disks of the coupler, and for at least one of the at least one central room to receive one of the abutting members of the coupler whereby mounting the bucket to the coupler either frontwards or rearwards.

18. The kit of claim 17, wherein the coupler comprises a dispositive to lock coupling between the coupler and the brackets.

19. The kit of claim 18, wherein the dispositive is a safety pin.

20. The kit of claim 17, wherein mounting the brackets to the coupler requires to insert the disks into two of the non-central recesses before inserting the abutting components in some of the central recesses.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which:

[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bucket of an excavator with brackets in accordance with a first embodiment thereof;

[0010] FIG. 2 is a top view of the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 1;

[0011] FIG. 3 is a side view of the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 1;

[0012] FIG. 4 is a close-up side view of the brackets of the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 1;

[0013] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a first coupler in accordance with an embodiment, with the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 1 being designed to be mounted thereto;

[0014] FIG. 6 is a side view of the coupler of FIG. 5;

[0015] FIG. 7 is a top view of the coupler of FIG. 5;

[0016] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 1 mounted to the coupler of FIG. 5 at a first position;

[0017] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 1 mounted to the coupler of FIG. 5 at a second position;

[0018] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a bucket of an excavator and brackets in accordance with a second embodiment thereof;

[0019] FIG. 11 is a top view of the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 10;

[0020] FIG. 12 is a side view of the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 10;

[0021] FIG. 13 is a close-up side partial view of the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 10;

[0022] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a second coupler in accordance with an embodiment, with the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 10 being designed to be mounted thereto;

[0023] FIG. 15 is a side view of the coupler of FIG. 14;

[0024] FIG. 16 is a top view of the coupler of FIG. 14;

[0025] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 10 mounted to the coupler of FIG. 14 in a first position;

[0026] FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the excavator bucket and brackets of FIG. 10 mounted to the coupler of FIG. 14 in a second position;

[0027] FIG. 19 is a side partial view of an excavator having an excavation bucket mounted to its articulated arm with the excavator bucket facing away from the excavator in accordance with an embodiment;

[0028] FIG. 20 is a side partial view of an excavator having an excavation bucket mounted to its articulated arm with the excavator bucket facing toward the excavator in accordance with an embodiment;

[0029] FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an excavator bucket and brackets mounted to a coupler of an excavator in accordance with another embodiment, with the coupler mounted to the brackets in a first position (depicted in soldi lines) and the coupler mounted to the brackets in a second position (depicted in dashed lines); and

[0030] FIG. 22 is a closeup perspective partial view of the bucket and brackets of FIG. 21, with the coupler mounted to the brackets in a first position (depicted in solid lines) and the coupler mounted to the brackets in a second position (depicted in dashed lines).

[0031] It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The realizations will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which realizations are illustrated. The foregoing may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the illustrated realizations set forth herein.

[0033] With respect to the present description, references to items in the singular should be understood to include items in the plural, and vice versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise or clear from the text. Grammatical conjunctions are intended to express any and all disjunctive and conjunctive combinations of conjoined clauses, sentences, words, and the like, unless otherwise stated or clear from the context. Thus, the term or should generally be understood to mean and/or and so forth.

[0034] Recitation of ranges of values and of values herein or on the drawings are not intended to be limiting, referring instead individually to any and all values falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value within such a range is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. The words about, approximately, or the like, when accompanying a numerical value, are to be construed as indicating a deviation as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art to operate satisfactorily for an intended purpose. Ranges of values and/or numeric values are provided herein as examples only, and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of the described realizations. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., such as, or the like) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the exemplary realizations and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the realizations. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any unclaimed element as essential to the practice of the realizations. The use of the term substantially is intended to mean for the most part or essentially depending on the context. It is to be construed as indicating that some deviation from the word it qualifies is acceptable as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art to operate satisfactorily for the intended purpose.

[0035] In the following description, it is understood that terms such as first, second, top, bottom, above, below, and the like, are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.

[0036] The terms top, up, upper, bottom, lower, down, vertical, horizontal, interior and exterior and the like are intended to be construed in their normal meaning in relation with normal installation of the product.

[0037] It should further be noted that for purposes of this disclosure, the term coupled means the joining of two members directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining between two members may be stationary in nature or movable in nature. Such joining may be achieved with the two members or the two members and any additional intermediate members being integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two members or the two members and any additional intermediate members being attached to one another. Such joining may be permanent in nature or alternatively may be removable or releasable in nature unless explicitly stated.

[0038] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, a first excavator bucket 100 comprises a rear wall 102, a first side wall 104, and a second side wall 106 secured together to define a reservoir 108. The excavator bucket 100 comprises teeth 112 designed to ease the penetration of the excavator bucket 100 into the soil.

[0039] The first excavator bucket 100 comprises, secured to the outside face 120 about the top 122 of the excavator bucket 100, a pair of brackets 132, 134 designed to assemble the excavator bucket 100 to a coupler mounted to the end of an articulated arm of an excavator. The brackets 132, 134 are normally welded to the outside face 120 such that the brackets 132, 134 are able to support the weight of the excavator bucket 100 and of the material contained therein, plus any force that may result from the excavator bucket 100 e.g., being moved, pushing a surface or material, penetrating material, etc.

[0040] The brackets 132, 134 of the excavator bucket 100 comprise a body 182 extending along a first plane 184 between a frontmost position 186 and a rearmost position 188. The body 182 comprises a mounting edge 190 where the brackets 132, 134 are adjoined to the excavation bucket 100. The brackets 132, 134 comprise a front recess 142 (according to general orientation of the excavator bucket 100 having the opening of the reservoir generally defining a facing direction), a rear recess 144, and a pair of central recesses 146, 148 separated by a lug 150. Each of the front and rear recesses 142, 144 comprises an arched wall 170 defining a room 172 accessible through an opening 174. The central recesses 146, 148 also comprise walls 170 defining rooms 178, with openings 180 facing away to the mounting edge 190. The brackets 132, 134 further comprise a pair of holes 152, 154 extending through the body 182 perpendicularly to the first plane 184.

[0041] As will be apparent later, the rooms 172, 178 and the holes 152, 154 are designed to mount the excavator bucket 100 in a first position and a second position, namely frontwards and backwards. Accordingly, in any of the two position, one extreme room 172 houses a part of a coupler 200 and the opposed central room 178 houses another part of the coupler 200 when the excavator bucket 100 is mounted to the coupler 200, which allows to mount the bucket 100 in both directions, and to control the excavator bucket 100 when mounted thereto as will be furthermore explained later.

[0042] According to an embodiment, the holes 152, 154 are located distant to the plane 160 joining the central axes 192 of the arched walls 170 of the rooms 172. More precisely, the holes 152, 154 are located between the mounting edge 190 and the plane 160.

[0043] According to an embodiment, the central axes 192, 194 of the rooms 172, 178 are coplanar.

[0044] According to an embodiment, the central axes 194 of the rooms 178 are located between the mounting edge 190 and the plane 160 joining the central axes 192 of the extreme rooms 172. The central axes 194 of the rooms 178 are distant from the plane 160 of at most 20%, 10% and preferably 5% of the distance separating the front and rear axes 192.

[0045] According to an embodiment, all of the recesses 142, 144, 146, 148 have an arched wall 170 extending over at least one of 120 degrees, 135 degrees, 150 degrees, and 165 degrees. It is to be understood that the arched walls 170 of the extreme rooms 172 are portion of the free edge of the brackets 132, 134 designed to house and/or at least partially retain a part of the coupler 200, to which the excavator bucket 100 is mounted.

[0046] According to an embodiment, the openings 180 of the central recesses 146, 148 are generally facing perpendicular to a plane 160 away from the mounting edge 190. Preferably, the openings 180 are oriented with an angle of at most 30 degrees relative to a line perpendicular to the plane 160, allowing easy movement of disks 218 of the coupler 200 for inserting them in or removing them from the central recess 146, 148.

[0047] According to an embodiment, the openings 180 of the extreme recesses 142, 144 are generally facing within 30 degrees of a line coplanar to the plane 160, preventing a movement upward of the disks 218 of the coupler 200 inserted in the extreme recess 142, 144 about perpendicular to the plane 160 thereby preventing them to exit the extreme recess 142, 144.

[0048] Furthermore, the combination of the limited opening of the arched wall 170 of the extreme recesses 142, 144 and their orientation relative to the plane 160 requires the disks 218 of the coupler 200 to be inserted in an extreme recess 142, 144 before inserting the abutting components 220 of the coupler 200 in a central recess 146, 148 when mounting the excavator bucket 100 to a coupler 200.

[0049] Referring now to FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a coupler 200 designed to mount the excavator bucket 100 thereto comprises a body 202 comprising a mounting plates 204, 206, and a connection plate 208. The coupler 200 comprises a first shaft 212 and a second shaft 214 extending across the mounting plates 204, 206. The shafts 212, 214 are secured to thereto with mounting components 218 and abutting components 220, specifically disks mounted to the exterior side and disks 216 mounted to interior side of the mounting plates 204, 206, thereby securing the shafts 212, 214 in place and providing extended abutting surfaces. The coupler 200 further comprises a securing pin 222 removably mounted to holes 224 present in the mounting plates 204, 206 that when mounted thereto extending across both mounting plates 204, 206.

[0050] Referring now additionally to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the assembly of the excavator bucket 100 and the coupler 200 may be performed according to two positions with the same excavator bucket 100 and coupler 200.

[0051] FIG. 8 depicts a first position where the coupler 200 is mounted to the rear of the excavator bucket 100. The assembly is performed by having the securing pin 222 removed from the coupler 200; inserting the pin 212 in the recess 144 with the mounting plates 204, 206 taking place between the brackets 132, 134; rotating the coupler 200 around the shaft 212 until the abutting components 220 mounted to the shaft 214 abut the arched wall 170 of the recess 146, position in which the holes 152, 224 are aligned; inserting the securing pin 222 across the first bracket 132, the first mounting plate 204, the second mounting plate 206 and the second bracket 134; and securing the securing pin 222 in place.

[0052] FIG. 9 depicts a second mounting position where the coupler 200 is mounted to the rear of the excavator bucket 100. The assembly is performed similarly, with the disks 218 and the abutting components 220 taking place in the recesses 142 and 148, and the securing pin 222 in the holes 154 of the brackets 134, 136.

[0053] Referring now to FIG. 10, FIG. 11, FIG. 12, and FIG. 13 in view of FIG. 14 to FIG. 16, a second excavator bucket 300 comprises a rear wall 302, a first side wall 304, and a second side wall 306 secured together to define a reservoir 308. The excavator bucket 300 comprises teeth 312.

[0054] The excavator bucket 300 comprises, secured to the outside face 320 about the top 322, a pair of brackets 332, 334.

[0055] The brackets 332, 334 of the excavator bucket 300 comprise a body with similar features as the brackets 134, 136. The brackets 332, 334 are further characterized comprising a front recess 342 (according to general orientation of the excavator bucket 300 having the opening of the reservoir generally defining a facing direction), a rear recess 344, and a single central recess 346. The brackets 132, 134 further comprise a pair of holes 352, 354.

[0056] As will be apparent later, the recesses 342, 346 and the holes 354 are designed to mount the excavator bucket 300 in a first position. The recesses 344, 346 and the hole 352 are designed to mount the excavator bucket 300 in a second position. Accordingly, in any of the two possible positions, one extreme recess 342, 344 houses a disk 418 when the excavator bucket 300 is mounted to a coupler 400 (see FIGS. 14 to 16).

[0057] According to an embodiment, the holes 352/354 are located distant to the planes 360/362 joining the centers of the associated recesses (342, 346)/(344, 346) and between the mounting edge 390 and the planes 360/362.

[0058] According to an embodiment, all of the recesses 342, 344, 346 have an arched wall 370 of at least 135 degrees, and preferably at least 150 degrees, and preferably at least 165 degrees. It is to be understood that the arched walls 370 are the portion of the free edge of the brackets 332, 334 designed to house the disks 418 and the abutting components 420 of the coupler 400 to which the excavator bucket 100 is mounted.

[0059] According to an embodiment, the opening of the central recess 346 is generally facing within 30 degrees of a line perpendicular to the planes 360, 362, and preferably within 25 degrees of a line perpendicular to the planes 360, 362. This opening of the central recess 346 is generally oriented away to the mounting edge 390, allowing a movement upward of the abutting components 420 of the coupler 400 for easily entering and exiting the central recess 346.

[0060] According to an embodiment, the openings of the extreme recesses 342, 344 are generally facing slightly downwards relative to the planes 360/362 passing through, facing more towards the reservoir 308 than away from the reservoir 308 relative to the planes 360, 362. Usually, the openings are within 30 degrees of the appropriate reference planes 360 or 362, and preferably within 15 degrees. This orientation of these openings is both easing the insertion of the disks 418 and preventing a movement upward of the disks 418 in the extreme recess 342, 344 when mounted to a coupler 400.

[0061] Furthermore, the combination of the limited opening of the arched wall 370 of the extreme recesses 342, 344 and their orientation relative to the plane 360, 362 requires disks 418 of a coupler 400 to be inserted in an extreme recess 342, 344 before inserting the abutting components 220 in the central recesses 346 to mount the excavator bucket 300 to the brackets 332, 334.

[0062] Referring now to FIG. 14, FIG. 15, and FIG. 16, a coupler 400 designed to mount the excavator bucket 300 thereto comprises a body 402 comprising mounting plates 404, 406, and a connection plate 408. The coupler 400 comprises a first shaft 412 and a second shaft 414 extending across the mounting plates 404, 406. The shafts 412, 414 are secured to thereto with disks 416, disks and abutting components, hereinafter generally called disks 418, and reinforcing structures 420 mounted to the exterior side and interior side of the mounting plates 404, 406, thereby securing the shafts 412, 414 in place and providing extended abutting surfaces. The coupler 400 further comprises a securing pin 422 removably mounted to holes 424 present in the mounting plates 404, 406 that when mounted thereto extending across both mounting plates 404, 406.

[0063] Referring now additionally to FIG. 17 and FIG. 18, the assembly of the excavator bucket 300 and the coupler 400 may be performed according to two positions with the same excavator bucket 300 and coupler 400.

[0064] FIG. 17 depicts a first position where the coupler 400 is mounted to the rear of the excavator bucket 300. The assembly is performed by having the securing pin 422 removed from the coupler 400; inserting the disks 418a in the recess 346 with the mounting plates 404, 406 taking place between the brackets 332, 334; rotating the coupler 400 around the pin 412 until the disks 418b abut the arched wall 370 of the central recesses 346, position in which the holes 352, 424 are aligned; inserting the securing pin 422 across the first bracket 332, the first mounting plate 404, the second mounting plate 406 and the second bracket 334; and securing the securing pin 422 in place.

[0065] FIG. 18 depicts a second position where the coupler 400 is mounted to the rear of the excavator bucket 300. The assembly is performed similarly, with the disks 418 taking place in the recesses 342, 346, and the securing pin 422 in the holes 354.

[0066] Referring now to FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, examples of mounting of embodiments of an excavator bucket 502, e.g., excavator bucket 300, to an excavator 504 are depicted.

[0067] FIG. 19 depicts the excavator bucket 502 mounted frontwards, the reservoir facing away from the excavator 504. The excavator 504 comprises an articulated arm 512, with a coupler 506 rotatably mounted to the end of the articulated arm 512 around the axis of a first shaft 522. A driving arm assembly 514 is coupled to the second shaft 524 to control the rotation of the excavator bucket 502. The first shaft 522, through disks, is mounted into the rear extreme recess 534 of the excavator bucket 502, and the second shaft 524 is mounted into the central recess 536. The securing pin 526 is placed to secure the excavator bucket 502 to the bracket 506, resulting in the driving arm assembly 514 being able to control rotation of the excavator bucket 502 around the axis of the first shaft 522 with the reservoir facing between a downwards position (not depicted) and a generally front-facing upward position.

[0068] FIG. 20 depicts the excavator bucket 502 mounted rearwards, the reservoir facing towards the excavator 504. In this position, the first shaft 522 is mounted into the front extreme recess 532 of the excavator bucket 502, and the second shaft 524 is mounted into the central recess 536. The securing pin 526 is placed to secure the excavator bucket 502 to the bracket 506, resulting in the driving arm assembly 514 being able to control rotation of the excavator bucket 502 around the axis of the first shaft 522 with the reservoir facing between a generally excavator-facing upward position (not depicted) and a downward position.

[0069] Change of position of the excavator bucket 502 is fast and easy with the present bucket and bracket assembly. Change of position requires to put the excavator bucket 502 on the ground; to remove the securing pin 526; to change the relative orientation of the excavator bucket 502 relative to the excavator 504. e.g., per rotating the excavator bucket 502 by pushing the rear plate 538 with the articulated arm 512; inserting the pins into the extreme recess (532 or 534) closest to the bracket 506 and into the central recess 536; and placing and securing the securing pin 526.

[0070] Referring now to FIG. 21 and FIG. 22, there is provided another embodiment of a combination of an assembly of an excavator bucket 602 and brackets, and a coupler 652. The brackets 604, 606 of the excavation bucket 602 comprise a front recess 612 and a rear recess 614. Brackets 604, 606 further comprises a central-rear abutting face 622 and a central-front abutting face 624. The brackets 604, 606 further comprises an rear locking enclosure 626 and an front locking enclosure 628.

[0071] For explanation purposes, FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 depict a single excavator bucket 602 and a single mounting coupler 652 mounted in two distinct positions. In a first mounting position, the mounted coupler 652a, in other words the mounting coupler 652 in position a, is depicted in solid lines. In a second mounting position, the mounting coupler 652b, in other words the mounting coupler 652 in position b is depicted in dashed lines. Even though depicted on the same figures, the mounting coupler 652 may be mounted in any of the mounting positions, but in a single position a or position b at a time.

[0072] Back to the excavator bucket 602, the rear recess 614, a central-front abutting face 624, and the front locking enclosure 628 are designed to interface with the mounting bracket 652 for mounting the excavator bucket 602 in a first position. And the front recess 612, the central-rear abutting face 622 and the rear locking enclosure 626 are designed to interface with the mounting bracket 652 for mounting the excavator bucket 602 in the second position.

[0073] According to an embodiment, the rear locking enclosure 626 and the front locking enclosure 628 comprise an external-facing wall section facing at least partially opposed to a plane 605, thus opposed to the most distant recess 612 or 614, dividing a section of the brackets 532, 634 between a external recess and a central recess. The rear locking enclosure 626 and the front locking enclosure 628 comprise a wall section neighboring the neighbor locking enclosure.

[0074] The central-rear abutting face 622 and the central-front abutting face 624 comprise a central-facing wall section facing at least partially towards the central plane. The central-rear abutting face 622 and the central-front abutting face 624 also comprise a bucket-facing wall section neighboring the mounting edge of the brackets 604, 606.

[0075] The central-rear abutting face 622 and the rear locking enclosure 626 are designed to provide a pair of complementary surfaces distant from the front recess 612 for the mounting coupler 652 to grip the rear branch 642 located between locking enclosure 626 and the central recess 616 therethrough and be limited in its vertical displacements.

[0076] Similarly, the central-front abutting face 624 and the front locking enclosure 628 are designed to provide a pair of complementary surfaces distant from the rear recess 614 for the mounting coupler 652 to grip the front branch 644 located between locking enclosure 628 and the central recess 616 therethrough and be limited in its vertical displacements.

[0077] According to an embodiment, the bottom wall section 646 of the central recess 616 close to the bucket is not straight. The bottom wall section 646 extends between the walls sections forming the branches 642, 644. The bottom wall section comprises a first wall section 646a and a second wall section 646b designed to be abutted when mounted the mounting coupler 652 respectively in a first position and in a second position. Planes along which extend the wall section 646a and 646b intercept at an apex, more distant from the bucket than a plane joining the extremities of the bottom wall section 646,

[0078] It is worth mentioning that the general assembly of a first combination of a first recess, e.g., front recess 612, and the complementary abutting walls, e.g., wall sections of the front locking enclosure 628 and of the rear locking enclosure 624, is similar to the second combination of recess and abutting walls, allowing to mount the bucket in two opposed positions using the same brackets 604, 606 and mounting coupler 652.

[0079] It is further to be mentioned that the configuration, shape, etc. of the shaft 662, of the components mounted to the shaft 662, and of the opposed jaws 664, 666 of the mounting bracket 652 are configured to at least partially match the configuration and shape of the recess and abutting faces. It is to be noted that in one embodiment at least one of the opposed jaws 664, 666 is coupled to an actuator, e.g., a hydraulic actuator, allowing to bite the branches 642, 642 as discussed before. In another embodiment, placement of jaw(s) and locking of the jaw(s) can be performed manually.

[0080] It is further worth mentioning that the recesses 612, 614 may be otherwise oriented, in other words having the opening directed to a different orientation, as long as the shape of the branches, the orientation of the abutting faces and the orientation of the recess retaining face are performing a complementary function of allowing to house a pin, retain the pin in place, and prevent the opposed jaws 664, 666 of the mounting coupler 652 to slide such as allowing the shaft 662 to exit the recess housing it.

[0081] It is finally worth noting that the shape of the extremity of the branches 642, 644 distant to the bucket provides a recess through a first portion of the edge of the side plate, and may provide an abutting face through an another portion of the edge of the side plate, e.g., a bucket-facing portion opposed to the portion of the side plate forming the recess.

[0082] Accordingly, the present description provides alternative embodiments of a combination of mounting brackets of an excavation bucket and a coupler that can be coupled with each other in two distinct positions without requiring modifications of the bucket, the brackets, and/or the mounting coupler when inverting mounting position. The mounting coupler features a component, e.g., a jaw or a pin, that is movable or actuatable such as forcing a stable, static interface between the brackets and the mounting coupler.

[0083] According to embodiments, while not described in details with all embodiments, one or more securing pins may be coupled to the brackets, the coupler bracket, or a combination thereof, for securing the coupling such that a loss of, e.g., hydraulic pressure, would not result in releasing or loosening the coupling thereof.

[0084] Examples may involve a securing pin limiting displacement of a portion of the mounting coupler relative to a side wall, or limiting maximum opening of the gripping biting a branch of the brackets, e.g., securing pin 670 in FIG. 22. Scope of alternative embodiments of securing pins or other securing components depend on embodiments of brackets and of the mounting coupler.

[0085] While preferred embodiments have been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from this disclosure. Such modifications are considered as possible variants comprised in the scope of the disclosure.