U.S. patent application number 10/890519 was filed with the patent office on 2006-01-19 for excavating tooth and adapter.
Invention is credited to Michael J. Jackson.
Application Number | 20060010725 10/890519 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35597904 |
Filed Date | 2006-01-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060010725 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jackson; Michael J. |
January 19, 2006 |
Excavating tooth and adapter
Abstract
An excavating tooth has an adapter, a point and a locking
device. The adapter has a forwardly protruding nose, a channel and
a body. The body of the adapter is configured to be secured to
excavating equipment. The point has a rearwardly opening socket for
receiving the adapter nose therein, a forward digging member, and
an ear extending from a side wall of the point, the ear having a
recess. The locking device has a rigid body and a depressible
protrusion. The rigid body is configured for receipt in the channel
of the point and the depressible protrusion is configured for
receipt in the recess of the adapter. The protrusion resiliently
engages the recess for tightening the point to the adapter. The
nose of the adapter has a plurality of tongues and the socket of
the point has a plurality of grooves for receiving the plurality of
tongues.
Inventors: |
Jackson; Michael J.;
(Langley, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OYEN, WIGGS, GREEN & MUTALA LLP;480 - THE STATION
601 WEST CORDOVA STREET
VANCOUVER
BC
V6B 1G1
CA
|
Family ID: |
35597904 |
Appl. No.: |
10/890519 |
Filed: |
July 14, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
37/456 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E02F 9/2841
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
037/456 |
International
Class: |
E02F 9/28 20060101
E02F009/28 |
Claims
1. An excavating tooth comprising: an adapter comprising a
forwardly protruding nose, a channel and a body, the body
configured to be secured to excavating equipment; a point
comprising a rearwardly opening socket for receiving the nose
therein, a forward digging member, and an ear extending from a side
wall of the point, the ear having a recess; a locking device
comprising a rigid body and a depressible protrusion, the rigid
body configured for receipt in the channel, the depressible
protrusion configured for receipt in the recess; whereby the
protrusion resiliently engages the recess for tightening the point
to the adapter.
2. An excavating tooth as in claim 1 wherein the nose is configured
in a general cone shape.
3. An excavating tooth as in claim 2 wherein the nose of the
adapter comprises a plurality of tongues and the socket of the
point comprises a plurality of grooves for receiving the plurality
of tongues.
4. An excavating tooth as in claim 2 wherein a front portion of the
nose of the adapter comprises a front stabilizer and a rear portion
of the socket comprises a stablizer receiving depression for
receiving the front stabilizer.
5. An excavating tooth as in claim 3 wherein the plurality of
tongues are configured in a rearwardly spiraling formation about
the nose of the adapter.
6. An excavating tooth as in claim 4 wherein stablizer gussets are
coupled to the front stabilizer, the gussets configured in a
rearwardly spiraling formation about the nose of the adapter.
7. An excavating tooth as in claim 3 wherein the plurality of
tongues is three tongues.
8. An excavating tooth as in claim 1 wherein the channel is located
on a body of the adapter.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This claims priority from Canadian patent application no.
2,367,860, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by
reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention pertains to an excavator tooth and adapter
connection system for use on buckets for mass excavation equipment
that are used to move earth and rock material.
BACKGROUND
[0003] For years construction and mining establishments have used
teeth on mass excavation equipment such as front end loaders, back
hoes, rippers and draglines. Initially teeth for mass excavation
equipment were made of a single unitary piece. When the one piece
tooth became dull or broken, a tremendous amount of time was
required to remove the tooth. Replacing a single tooth was very
expensive in time and material since 60%-80% of the old tooth was
not damaged but was replaced along with the problematic part of the
old tooth. If the tooth was not replaced, the tooth continued to
get increasingly blunt and unproductive.
[0004] Some of the difficulties of the unitary tooth system have
been minimized in a two part tooth system where a tooth is
comprised of a point and an adapter. Early two piece teeth posed
many problems. A shell type structure was prone to breakage. Many
two piece teeth were of a design wherein the adapter nose and the
point socket were predominantly triangular in shape, which when a
digging force was exerted on the end of the tooth, an internal part
of the tooth would walk off the mating surface, thereby exerting a
shearing force on the locking mechanism. Locking mechanisms such as
vertical pins would elongate and shear under these circumstances.
The point would then break off or the nose of the adapter would
shear at the pinhole.
[0005] Tooth breakage would often result in the mating surface of
the adapter being destroyed through exposure to material flow.
Shearing of the adapter nose resulted in adapter destruction due to
breakage. In both cases, the adapter would have to be replaced and
would result in significant loss of production. In many operations,
such as mining operations, the breakage and loss of the tooth was
secondary to the possible cost incurred if the lost tooth was not
recovered and resulted in a breakage of more valuable processing
equipment.
[0006] To reduce problems associated with tooth breakage, a number
of two piece arrangements have been devised that include vertically
driven locking devices. These devices have often been unsuccessful,
struggling with pin shearing problems and resulting loses of the
tooth.
[0007] Manufacturers have reduced breakage by designing massively
oversized nose pieces of the edges and providing significantly
larger pins in order to prevent breakage of either the tooth or
nose piece. The oversized nose pieces and larger pins have led to
ineffective digging. Further, if a larger pin was used on a smaller
nose, nose breakage would usually occur. This was undesirable.
[0008] There exists a need for a successful mounting system for
connecting a point and the nose of an adapter in a two or more
piece excavating tooth system.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0009] An aspect of the invention provides an excavating tooth
comprising having an adapter, a point and a locking device. The
adapter has a forwardly protruding nose, a channel and a base. The
base of the adapter is configured to be secured to excavating
equipment. The point has a rearwardly opening socket for receiving
the adapter nose therein, a forward digging member, and an ear
extending from a side wall of the point, the ear having a recess.
The locking device has a rigid body and a depressible protrusion.
The rigid body is configured for receipt in the channel of the
point and the depressible protrusion is configured for receipt in
the recess of the adapter. The protrusion resiliently engages the
recess for tightening the point to the adapter.
[0010] An aspect of the invention provides that the nose of the
adapter is configured in a general cone shape. The nose of the
adapter has a plurality of tongues and the socket of the point has
a plurality of grooves for receiving the plurality of tongues.
[0011] An aspect of the invention provides that a front portion of
the adapter nose has a front stabilizer. A rear portion of the
socket comprises a stablizer receiving depression for receiving the
front stabilizer.
[0012] An aspect of the invention provides that a plurality of
tongues on the adapter are configured in a rearwardly spiraling
formation about the nose of the adapter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0013] In drawings that illustrate non-limiting embodiments of the
invention:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a tooth system having
an adapter, point and locking device in accordance with an
embodiment of the invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of an adapter according to
an embodiment of the invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is front end view of the adapter of FIG. 2;
[0017] FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C is are end views of adapters according
to embodiments of the invention;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a side view of the adapter of FIG. 2;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a second side view of the adapter of FIG. 2;
[0020] FIG. 7 is third side view of the adapter of FIG. 2;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a side view of a nose of the adapter of FIG.
2;
[0022] FIG. 9 is an end perspective view of a first point
embodiment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0023] FIG. 10 is a side perspective view of a socket of the point
of FIG. 9;
[0024] FIG. 11 is a side view of the point of FIG. 9;
[0025] FIG. 12 is an end perspective view of a second point
embodiment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0026] FIG. 13 is a side view of the point of FIG. 12;
[0027] FIG. 14 is an end perspective view of a third point
embodiment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0028] FIG. 15 is a side view of the point of FIG. 12; and
[0029] FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view of a locking device
embodiment engaged to an ear of a point embodiment in accordance
with FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION
[0030] Throughout the following description, specific details are
set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the
invention. However, the invention may be practiced without these
particulars. In other instances, well known elements have not been
shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the
invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be
regarded in an illustrative, rather than a restrictive, sense.
[0031] FIG. 1 shows a tooth system 100 having an adapter 105, a
point 110 and a locking device 115. The adapter 105 has a body 120
having a channel 125 for receiving the locking device 115. The body
120 of the adapter 105 is to be secured to an excavating machine,
such as to the bucket of a front end loader (not shown), by
conventional means such as welding. The adapter 105 has a forwardly
protruding nose 130 for receipt in the socket 135 of the point 110.
The point 110 further has an ear 140 extending from a side wall 145
of the point 110.
[0032] The nose of the adapter 105 has according to certain
embodiments of the invention as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5-8 is
based on a modified rope design. A common rope is a 6/19
arrangement, which means that a core of 6 strands of straight rope
is angularly encircled by 19 strands of roper that extend the
length of the rope in an angular fashion around the core.
[0033] The nose has a conical shaped center core 155 with a
plurality of angular tongues 150 around the core. In certain
embodiments as shown in FIGS. 2-8, the plurality of angular tongues
is three angular tongues 150. At the forward end of the nose of the
adapter, a stress (or stabilizer) beam 160 is incorporated. The
stress beam 160 receives stress from the tooth when a digging force
is applied to the digging end of the tooth (i.e. the point). The
stress beam 160 is enhanced by the plurality of the tongues 150. In
embodiments having three tongues, at least two of the three tongues
significantly share the stress from a digging force and thus
enhance the stress beam.
[0034] The rope type concept for the nose of the adapter is
illustrated in embodiments shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C. In each
embodiment tongues 150 encircle the center core 155. FIGS. 4A and
4B show a generally circular shaped stress beam 162. FIG. 4C shows
an embodiment having a stress beam 160 that is non-circular in
accordance with the adapter 105 embodiment of FIG. 2. The three
tongues 150 together form a general triangular shape when viewed
from the forward end as shown with triangle 165. The triangular
shaped formation has a narrow topside for penetration and has a
doublewide base for bearing surface when the tooth is subjected to
stress.
[0035] The channel 125 can be located on the body 120 of the
adapter 105 near where the point 110 engages with the adapter 105.
It is to be understood that the channel 125 can be located on the
top, bottom or either side of the 120 of the adapter 105. The
location of the channel 125 depends upon the desired location of
the locking device 115 when the tooth system is in the locked
position.
[0036] The tongues 150 and the stress beam 160 of adapter 105 shown
in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5-8 are configured in a manner that requires
rotation of the adapter 105 or rotation of the point 110 when
engaging or disengaging the adapter 105 and point 110. The rotation
of the point 110 during engagement insures that once the locking
device 115 is in position and force is applied to the point 110,
the locking device 115 holds the point 110 firmly in place. The
stress beam 160 and the tongues 150 are configured to require the
same amount of rotation during engagement of the point 110 with the
adapter 105. The combination of the tongues 150, the stress beam
160 and the locking device 115 provide a strong assembly and reduce
the shear force on the locking device 115. Further the arrangement
of the locking device 115 in relation to the adapter 105 and point
110 results in angular compression when the locking device 115 is
engaged, significantly reducing or eliminating pin shear and point
105 loss.
[0037] Certain dimensions of the embodiment of the adapter 105
shown in FIGS. 6-8 are described herein with reference to a center
line 170 that extends longitudinally through the center of adapter
105. The angles upon which the tongues 150 and the stress beam 160
of adapter 105 are rotated in relation to the center line 170 are
shown as angle 175 which is approximately 22.5.degree.. The angle
240 that the outer edge of the center cone 155 forms with the
center line is approximately 22.degree.. The angle 245 formed from
the inner edge 250 of the channel 125 to the center line 170 is
approximately 17.2.degree.. The examples provided will result in an
angular rotation of the point 110 by 22.5.degree. about the center
line 170 relative to the adapter 105 for engagement or
disengagement. It is to be understood that these dimensions and
rotations are not meant to limit the claims of the invention but
rather are provided by way of example and adapters with differing
dimensions and rotation values may also be practiced in accordance
with this invention.
[0038] The three tongues 150 are sloped at 1/8 of a revolution, or
22.5 degrees. The tongues 150 are tapered and slope from a location
starting about half of the distance from the font tip of the nose.
The tapered tongues 150 can be formed to extend in a gradual
tapered fashion from the front end direction of the nose to the
rear end direction. The tongues 150 can also be formed extending
from left to right or right to left. In conjunction with the
corresponding grooves 225 in the socket of the point, whether the
tongues are formed left to right or right to left will result in
the engagement connection requiring either a clockwise or
counterclockwise rotation.
[0039] An adapter 105 according to this invention can be used with
a point 110 of various shapes. Point embodiments 200, 205 and 210
are shown in FIGS. 9-15 and are provided as examples. The shape of
the point 110 for a given application can be chosen based on a
variety of factors, including the type of earth or rock to be
excavated.
[0040] Points 200, 205 and 210 (collectively point 110) have a
recess 215 on the inside surface of the ear 140 for receiving the
protrusion 220 of the locking device 115. The recess 215 may
optionally be located with a depression 265 on the inside surface
of the ear 140. Point 110 has grooves 225 for receiving the tongues
150 of adapter 105.
[0041] The manner in which the locking device 115 engages the
recess 215 is shown in FIG. 16. Locking device 115 has a rigid
outer casing 235 and at least one protrusion 220. Although not
shown in the drawings, it is to be understood that additional
embodiments of the locking device 115 may include multiple
protrusion 220 as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,648 which is
incorporated herein by reference. The protrusion 220 may be made of
polymer and is elastomeric and/or resilient.
[0042] The rigid outer casing 235 of the locking device 115 (or
locking pin) can be made of steel construction. The protrusion 220
is located in a cavity in the outer casing 235. The protrusion 220
can be made of a dual polymer. The inner section of the protrusion
220 can be made of a resilient material with air-bubbles such that
when the protrusion 220 is driving into the locked position, the
bubbles are compressed, creating an outward force. The outer
section of the protrusion 220 can be made of a non-resilient
polymer to make the outer section of the protrusion 220 rigid for
contacting the recess 215 of the point 110.
[0043] When the locking device 115 is driven into a position in
which the protrusion 220 engages the recess 215 to engage and lock
point 110 with adapter 105, the protrusion 220 is securely held in
the correct position in recess 215. Embodiments of the locking
device 115 are designed so that when stress is brought to bear on
the point 110, the locking device 115 does not become rigid in the
adapter 105 but rather moves freely with the point 110. This
reduces the shearing or breakage of the protrusion 220 and locking
device 115.
[0044] As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light
of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are
possible in the practice of this invention without departing from
the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the
invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance
defined by the following claims.
* * * * *