HK1126262B - Wear assembly - Google Patents

Description

Wear assembly

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a wear assembly for securing a wear member to a bucket or the like.

Background

Wear members in the form of adapters, shrouds, etc. are typically secured to the front edge of the bucket. Such wear members are often subjected to harsh conditions and heavy loads. Thus, the wear member needs to be replaced after a period of use. Wear members are typically manufactured to withstand the rigors of excavating operations and remain replaceable after wear. The Whisler-style locking arrangement has long been used to mechanically attach a wear member to the lip of a bucket. Such locks are generally comprised of a wedge and a C-shaped clamp or spool. While the wedge is typically nailed into the assembly, in the combination disclosed in U.S. Pat. nos. 4,433,496 and 5,964,547, the wedge is pulled under pressure from the screw into place. U.S. patent application publication No.2004/0216336 discloses a lock in which the wedge is a tapered threaded element that is rotated to drive the wedge into and out of the assembly.

Fig. 19 discloses one example of a conventional weskit shroud 21 connected to the lip 16. As shown, the lip includes a digging edge 25, an inner surface 27, and an outer surface 29. An axially elongated bore 31 extends through the lip at a location rearward of the digging edge. The bore 31 has a generally rectilinear front wall 33 and a rear wall 35 including a step 37. The step includes a tapered surface 39 that tapers from the inner surface 27 as it extends rearwardly from the digging edge 25.

Shroud 21 surrounds the forward end 25 of lip 16 and is provided with an inner leg 41 extending along inner surface 27 and an outer leg 43 extending along outer surface 29. Inner leg 41 includes a through-hole 47 that is generally aligned with hole 31 when shroud 21 is placed on the lip. The aperture 31 and the through-going aperture 47 together define a channel 49 in which is received a lock 51 adapted to releasably hold the shroud 21 to the lip 16. Through-hole 47 includes a step 53 adjacent wear surface 55 of inner leg 41. Like the step 37 in the hole 31, the step 53 includes a tapered surface 57 that tapers from the inner surface 27 as it extends rearwardly from the digging edge 25. As such, the tapered surfaces 39, 57 diverge rearwardly at substantially the same inclination relative to the central axis of the lip 16.

The lock 51 includes a wedge 61 and a clamp or spool 63. Spool 63 has a C-shaped configuration with a generally vertical body 65 and two axially extending arms 67, 69. The upper arm 67 is adapted to fit in step 53 and the lower arm 69 is adapted to fit in step 37. The arms 67, 69 are each provided with an inclined inner wall 71, 73 which engages and abuts against the respective tapered surface 39, 57. The front surface of the body 65 defines a forwardly inclined (relative to vertical) ramp 75 as the body 65 extends downwardly in the channel 49. Wedge 61 has front and rear concentrating walls 81, 83. The centering wall 83 abuts the ramp 75 during installation and use for a tight fit with the lock 51 in the channel 49. As shown in fig. 19, the concentration wall 83 and the inclined surface 75 are provided with interconnecting ridges 85 for ensuring a stable and positive contact between the surfaces.

For mounting purposes, the shroud 21 is first secured to the lip 16 so that the through-hole 47 is generally aligned with the hole 31. Spool 63 is then placed in the defined passage 49 and arms 67, 69 are inserted into steps 37, 53. Due to the inclination of the tapered surface 57 and the inner wall 71, the spool is prone to sliding forward and downward through the passage 49 if it is not held in place. The spool therefore occasionally slides through the lip and falls to the ground, the worker having to pick up it from under the bucket. This step can be difficult, especially at night. In addition, crawling under the bucket may present a hazard to workers.

Thus, the spool 63 must be held in place while the wedge 61 is installed into the assembly. To withstand the rigors of a digging operation, the wedge must fit very tightly in the channel 49. Since a large hammer is required to mount the wedge into the assembly, the worker is easily injured by falling debris during striking.

As wedge 61 is forced into channel 49, arms 67, 69 push rearwardly beyond tapered surfaces 39, 57. This causes the shroud 21 to be pulled against the digging edge 25 with the inner leg 41 clamped against the lip 16. This tight fit withstands heavy and varied loads that may be applied to the wear member. Considerable force applied to the short tube arm may cause the arm to stretch. This stretching reduces lock retention on the wear member and often causes lock failure.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention relates to an improved wear assembly for securing a wear member to excavating equipment and the like.

The present invention relates to a lock assembly for securing a wear member to a base. For example, the inventive lock may be used to secure a shroud or other wear member to the lip of a bucket to avoid the problems of the prior art.

In one aspect of the invention, an improved spool is used in combination with a wedge for holding a wear member in place. The spool is formed with at least one laterally extending arm at its upper end in place of an axial arm used in conventional C-shaped spools. In this way, the spool can be easily supported in the assembly when the wedge is installed. The spool does not fall through the opening and no special action is required to avoid it falling. Thus, the wear assembly is easier to set up and less dangerous. Furthermore, the lateral support reduces the risk of extension of the pipe spool.

In a preferred construction, an upper lateral arm extends outwardly from each side of the spool body for generally defining a T-shaped configuration. A spool provided with an upper lateral arm may be used in combination with a plurality of lower arms, such as axial arms, lower lateral arms, or other supports adapted to engage the lower foot and lower portion of the lip. In either combination, the inner arms of the upper and lower arms are preferably angled outwardly in a rearward direction for applying a rearward clamping force generally provided in a wecker.

Similarly, in another aspect of the invention, the wear member is formed with an opening having at least one spool support for receiving and supporting a spool equipped with lateral arms. Preferably, the wear member is formed with side recesses that act as stub supports to each side of the lock receiving opening. As described above, this novel structure allows the wear member to be assembled on the lip, or other equipment, with greater ease and less injury to the user.

Drawings

Figure 1 is an axial cross-sectional view of a wear assembly according to the present invention secured to a lip of a bucket.

Figure 2 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the wear assembly.

Figure 3 is a partial top view of the wear assembly.

Figure 4 is an axial cross-sectional perspective view of the wear assembly.

Figure 5 is a side view of a neck according to the invention.

Figure 6 is a front perspective view of the spool.

Fig. 7 is a rear perspective view of the spool.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a wedge in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a lock assembly according to the present invention.

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a wear member in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 11 is an enlarged partial perspective view of a through-hole in the wear member.

Figure 12 is an upper perspective view of another wear assembly of the present invention without the wedge.

Figure 13 is a bottom perspective view of the alternative wear assembly of the present invention without the wedge.

Figure 14 is a perspective view of the alternative wear assembly of the present invention without the wedge.

Figure 15 is a perspective view of the alternative wear assembly provided with a spool partially mounted into the wear assembly.

Figure 16 is a perspective view of the alternative wear member.

Figure 17 is a bottom perspective view of a portion of a lip adapted for use with the alternative wear assembly.

Figure 18 is an axial cross-sectional view of a second alternative wear assembly in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 19 is an axial cross-sectional view of a prior art wear assembly.

Detailed Description

The present invention relates to a wear assembly 100 in which a wear member 102 is releasably attached to excavating equipment 103 (figures 1-4). In this application, wear member 102 is a shroud that is attached to the lip of the bucket. However, wear member 102 can be other items (e.g., adapters, wings, etc.) that connect to other equipment. Further, relative terms, front, back, up, or down, are used herein for convenience in explanation with reference to the drawings, but other orientations are possible.

In one embodiment (fig. 1-4), the shroud 102 is mounted on a conventional lip 16. Although the lip in fig. 1 is slightly different from that of fig. 19, the lip and its elements are designated by the same reference numerals for convenience. This particular lip configuration is not an essential feature of the invention and an assembly according to the invention may be used with different lips.

The lock 104 includes a wedge 106 and a stub or clip 108 for releasably securing the shroud 102 to the lip 16 (fig. 1-9). Spool 108 includes: a body; at least one and preferably two upper arms 112; and a lower arm 114. The lower arm 114 is formed in a conventional stub in the same manner as the lower arm 69; that is, the lower arm 114 extends axially rearward from the body 110. The lower arm 114 also has an inclined inner surface 116 which abuts the tapered wall 39 formed in the lip. However, unlike conventional spools, spool 108 includes at least one laterally extending upper arm 112 that engages shroud 102. In the preferred construction, the upper lateral arms 112 extend laterally outwardly from each side 118 of the body 110 for defining a generally T-shaped configuration with the body 110.

In the preferred construction, the wedge 106 has a conical shape and is provided with a helical thread 120, preferably a helical groove, formed on its outer surface 122. The wedge is generally formed in accordance with the wedges disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application publication No.2004/0216336 and U.S. patent application publication No.10/824,490, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Spool 108 includes a front slope 126, inclined with respect to vertical, for abutting outer surface 122 of wedge 106. The ramp 126 preferably includes a groove 128 and is provided with a concave surface that generally matches the curvature of the wedge 106, although other concave configurations may be used to provide the desired support for the wedge. Other shaped ramps may be used so long as the abutment of the wedge and spool is sufficient to be securely positioned in the assembly when in use. The slot may extend along substantially the entire length or a portion of the length of the body 110. Regardless, a thread forming portion 130 is provided on the ramp 126 and, in this embodiment, within the slot 128 for mating with the thread 120 of the wedge 106. The thread-forming portion 130 may extend along the entire length or a portion of the length of the slot 128 as shown.

Wear member 102 is formed with a front working end 134, an inner foot 136, and an outer foot 138 (fig. 1-4 and 10-11). As with known shields, the inner leg 136 is preferably longer than the outer leg 138, although other configurations may be used (e.g., the leg lengths in FIG. 18 are the same). The inner leg 136 includes a through-hole 140 generally aligned with the hole 31 in the lip 16 for collectively defining a channel 141. However, unlike conventional shield 21, throughbore 140 includes at least one and preferably two spool supports 142 extending along side 144 (fig. 10, 11). In a preferred construction, spool support 142 is a groove or step that extends partially through inner leg 136 in throughbore 140. In the preferred construction, each spool support or recess 142 includes a support surface 146 and a stop 148 in a generally V-shaped configuration, although other shapes may be used. The support surface 146 preferably extends rearwardly from the digging edge 25, sloping outwardly from the lip 16, although other configurations may be used. The inclination of the support surface 146 relative to the lip is preferably the same as the tapered or inclined wall 39 in the lip 16, but in the opposite direction. Stop 148 is preferably inclined in a forward direction from the lip. As one example, seating surface 146 is set at about 18 degrees relative to lip 16 and about 90 degrees relative to stop 148; but other ranges of angles may be used for each angle.

Each lateral arm 112 of spool 108 is received in a respective spool support or recess 142 of shroud 102 (fig. 1-4). In a preferred construction, each upper arm 112 includes a seating surface 152 and a stop 154 for engaging and engaging the seating surface 146 and the stop 148 of the recess 142 in which the upper arm is received (fig. 3,4, 10 and 11). Support surface 152 is sloped to generally match the slope of support surface 146 in shroud 102, and stop 154 is sloped to generally match the slope of stop 148, although other shapes are possible. When spool 108 is mounted in passage 141, seating surface 152 of spool 108 seats against seating surface 146 of shroud 102 and stop 154 seats against stop 148. The engagement of surfaces 146, 152 and 148, 154 prevents the spool from falling through passage 141. The V-shaped configuration of bearing surfaces 146, 152 and stops 148, 154 also hold spool 108 in place as wedge 106 is inserted.

To erect lock 104 spool 108 is first placed in passage 141 such that lower arm 114 is set in step 37 and upper arm 112 is set in spool support or recess 142. The recess 142 holds the spool in its proper position to accommodate the wedge without additional holding by the worker or others. Thus, the spool no longer falls through the lip onto the ground. In addition, the worker is not injured when erecting the lock.

After insertion of spool 108, wedge 106 is installed in passage 141 between front wall 33 of bore 31 and bevel 126 of spool 108. In a preferred construction, the wedge 106 includes a tool engaging structure 156, such as a socket of a wrench. Thread forming portion 120 of wedge 106 engages thread forming portion 130 of spool 108 and the wedge is rotated about its axis 158 to pull the wedge into passage 141. As the wedge is driven into the opening, spool 108 is pushed rearward so that bearing surface 152 presses against bearing surface 146 and inner surface 116 presses against tapered wall 39. The upper and lower arms 112, 114 of spool 108 can then push shroud 102 rearwardly into tight engagement with lip 16 and grip inner foot 136 against inner surface 27 of lip 16 for securely attaching the wear member to the bucket. The positioning of the upper arm 112 closer to the vertical axis of the spool also reduces the tendency of the upper and lower arms to spread apart in use; that is, this new orientation of the upper arms reduces the problem of easy extension of the arms in conventional spools, so that upper and lower arms 112, 114 of spool 108 are less likely to deform during use.

Spool 108 preferably includes a void 160 (fig. 6) in groove 128. The retainer 162 is preferably formed of rubber, foam, or other elastomer and is secured in the cavity for pressing outwardly toward the outer surface 122 of the wedge 106. The retainer may prevent the wedge from loosening when the bucket is used in a digging operation. Of course, other types of retainers may be used to prevent loosening.

In another embodiment (fig. 12-17), spool 108a is formed with a lower lateral arm 114a, and an upper lateral arm 112 a. The lip 16a is formed with a lower spool support 37a (fig. 17) instead of the conventional axial step 37 (fig. 19). The upper lateral arm 112a may have the same structure as the arm 112. Spool 108a is rotated 90 degrees for mounting into passage 141a (fig. 14 and 15). In particular, spool 108a is first rotated so that lower lateral arm 114a extends generally parallel to the rearward extension of inner leg 136a of wear member 102a, i.e., in the forward and rearward directions relative to channel 141 a. In this manner, the spool can be inserted into the passage 141a until the lower arm can be set in the side step 37 a. A side step 37a is formed in the outer surface of the lip 16 for the same structure as the side step 142 of the shroud 102 described above. Shield 102a is formed with asymmetrical side steps or recesses 142a, 142 a' and is thus adapted to rotate spool 108a (fig. 12, 14 and 15) upon placement of lower arm 114a into side step 37 a. In particular, the step 142a preferably has a longer axial shape than the step 142 a' and is free of a stop for allowing the front upper lateral support 112a to swing (when erected) into the step 142 a. The step 142 a' has a support surface and a stop that are substantially the same as the step 142.

Other modifications of the lip, lock or wear member are possible. For example, the lower foot of the wear member may be extended and provided with a recess to accommodate a spool or lower arm, rather than a lip structure (fig. 18), such as disclosed in U.S. patent application 2004/0216334, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The shape of the upper and lower spool supports and the configuration of the support surfaces and stops may vary. A hammering-fixed wedge can be used with a spool according to the invention instead of a rotating wedge. Wedges driven by a separate screw element or a screw element made up of multiple parts, which applies an expansion force, can also be used with the stub using the novel lateral arm. In addition, various inserts (e.g., between the front wall of the hole in the lip and the wedge) may be included in the through-hole for improving the lock-up or wear of the assembly.

Claims (8)

1. A wear member for attachment to a wearable surface of excavating equipment wherein the wearable surface has a digging edge and the wear member includes a front portion projecting forwardly from the digging edge to contact the ground during excavating operations and a pair of axial legs extending rearwardly from the front portion to span the digging edge and lie on the wearable surface, one of the axial legs being an outer leg and the other of the axial legs being an inner leg longer than the outer leg, the inner leg including a through hole to receive a wedge and a stub lock assembly to secure the wear member to the wearable surface; and a spool support disposed in the inner foot laterally adjacent the through-hole for engaging and engaging the two upper lateral arms of the spool, wherein each spool support includes a stop forward of the support surface to prevent the upper lateral arms of the spool from sliding forward rearward of the stop, and the upper lateral arms are positioned proximate a vertical axis of the spool to reduce a tendency for the arms of the spool to spread apart when in use.

2. A wear member in accordance with claim 1 wherein each said spool support includes a support surface inclined to extend rearwardly from the wearable surface for engaging an upper lateral arm of the spool.

3. A wear member in accordance with claim 1 or 2 wherein the through-hole includes a front wall, a rear wall, and side walls extending through the one foot, and wherein each said spool support is formed in one of the side walls between the front and rear walls.

4. A wear assembly including a wear member in accordance with any one of claims 1-3, the wear assembly further comprising:

a lock including a wedge received in the through-hole and a spool for securing the wear member to the wearable surface, the spool having a pair of upper lateral arms and at least one lower arm, each of the upper lateral arms including a bearing surface to complement and contact the bearing surface of one of the spool bearings.

5. A wear assembly in accordance with claim 4 wherein the wedge and spool include complementary thread formations such that the wedge is rotated to move into and out of the through-hole.

6. A wear assembly in accordance with claim 4 wherein the wedge is hammered into and out of the through-hole.

7. A wear assembly in accordance with claim 4 wherein the lower arm of the spool extends rearwardly in axial alignment with the through-hole.

8. A wear assembly in accordance with claim 4 wherein the spool includes a pair of lower arms that extend in the same direction as the upper arms.