Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
BUCKET OF A ROPE SHOVEL
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Hinge elements, particularly for rope shovels for mining.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In rope shovels, a bucket is hingedly connected to a bucket
handle and
separately hingedly connected to a receiver for a hoist rope. These
connections cooperate to
move and support the bucket. The hinged connection between the bucket and the
receiver
for the hoist rope conventionally comprises a lug attached to the bucket, and
an element
referred to herein as a padlock which connects to the receiver for the hoist
rope, the padlock
having two lugs, one on each side of the lug of the bucket. A pin, referred to
herein as a
padlock pin, is inserted through the lugs to form a hinge. The pin may also be
referred to as a
bail pin and for the purposes of this disclosure and the claims these terms
should be
considered interchangeable and the use of a particular term should not be
considered to be
limiting. This hinge is exposed to a great deal of force during normal use of
the rope shovel.
Conventionally, to provide bearing surfaces for the pin, bushings are provided
within the
lugs. In the conventional design, the pin can rotate with respect to the
bucket and the
associated bushing (main lug bushing), causing wear due to the rotational
friction of the pin
with the bushing.
SUMMARY
[0003] There is provided a retainer for a padlock pin, the padlock pin
being adapted
to connect a padlock to a lug of a bucket of a rope shovel, the retainer
having a pin
attachment portion adapted to rigidly attach to the padlock pin, and an arm
portion adapted
to connect to a connecting element attached to the bucket to restrain rotation
of the padlock
pin relative to the bucket.
[0004] In various embodiments, there may be included any one or more of
the
following features: the retainer may be adapted to be attached to an end of
the padlock pin,
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the retainer may be adapted to be welded to the padlock pin, the connecting
element may be
a pair of stops configured to restrain the padlock pin arm between the stops
of the pair, and
the arm portion may extend perpendicular to an axis defined by the padlock pin
when the
retainer is attached to the padlock pin.
[0005] There is provided a padlock pin adapted to connect a padlock to a
lug of a
bucket of a rope shovel, the padlock pin comprising a pin portion, and an arm
portion rigidly
attached to the pin portion, the arm portion adapted to connect to a
connecting element
attached to the bucket to restrain rotation of the padlock pin relative to the
bucket. In various
embodiments, there may be included any one or more of the following features:
the arm
portion may be attached to an end of the in portion, the arm portion may be
welded to the
pin portion, the connecting element may be a pair of stops configured to
restrain the arm
portion between the stops of the pair, and the arm portion may extend
perpendicular to an
axis defined by the padlock pin.
[0006] These and other aspects of the device and method are set out in the
claims,
which are incorporated here by reference.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0007] Embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures, in
which
like reference characters denote like elements, by way of example, and in
which:
[0008] Fig. 1 is a perspective drawing of a padlock with a retainer
according to an
embodiment of the present invention shown in the context of a bucket of a rope
shovel;
[0009] Fig. 2 is a side view of the padlock of Fig. 1 showing the retainer,
and
including a smaller portion of the bucket;
[0010] Fig. 3 is atop view of the padlock of Fig. 1, where top is the
direction shown
to the right in Fig. 2 and lower right in Fig.1, shown in context of a portion
of the bucket;
[0011] Fig. 3A is a front section view showing the section indicated by
line A-A in
Fig. 3, showing interior details of the padlock;
[0012] Fig. 3B is a close up of the section of the padlock, showing the
area indicated
by circle B in Fig. 3A;
[0013] Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the padlock pin and retainer arm of
Fig. 1;
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[0014] Fig. 5 is an end view of the padlock pin and retainer arm of Fig. 4;
and
[0015] Fig. 5A is a section view of the padlock pin and retainer arm
showing the
section A-A from Fig. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] The embodiments shown here are shown in the context of the bucket of
a
BucyrusTM 495 rope shovel, but the invention is not limited to any particular
variety of rope
shovel and could also be applied to hinges in contexts other than rope
shovels. Fig.1 is a
perspective drawing of a padlock with a retainer according to an embodiment of
the present
invention shown in the context of a bucket of a rope shovel, and Fig. 2 is a
side view of the
padlock of Fig. 1. The circle around Fig. 1 merely indicates the limits of the
view and is not
an element or a boundary of any element. The conventional aspects of Fig. 1
and Fig. 2 will
be described first. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, a bucket 10 of a rope
shovel has a lug 12
for forming a hinged connection to lugs 14 of padlock 16. Padlock pin 18 is
inserted through
lugs 12 and 14 to form the hinged connection. The padlock has lugs 20 to form
a hinged
connection with a receiver for a hoist rope (not shown). Bucket 10 also has
lugs 22 to form a
hinged connection with a bucket handle (not shown). The novel aspects of Fig.
1 and Fig. 2
will now be described. A retainer arm 24 is attached to an end of padlock pin
18 and
connects to a connecting element 26 on the bucket 10. The retainer arm 24 in
this
embodiment generally comprises a flange 42 for encircling and attaching to the
pin 18 and
an arm portion 44 for connecting to the connecting element 26. In this
embodiment, the
flange 42 and arm portion 44 are together made of a single unitary piece of
material. If the
pin extends some distance beyond the lugs, then any position on the pin beyond
the lugs is
considered to be the "end" of the pin. It is also possible that a padlock
might be configured
to have a space between a padlock lug and a bucket lug to receive a retainer
arm of the
padlock pin. In that case, the retainer arm could extend between the lugs and
would in this
case not be at the end of the padlock pin. The retainer arm would preferably
be removably
attached in that case to enable the pin to be removed. The retainer arm
restrains rotation of
the padlock pin relative to the bucket. In this embodiment the connecting
element is a pair of
stops that restrains the retainer arm between the stops. The stops in this
embodiment are
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formed of 3inx3in square stock welded to the bucket 10. Other connecting
elements could be
used. Preferably, the connecting element allows some degree of motion of the
retainer arm in
directions other than rotation around the axis of the pin. Preferably, the
retainer arm is rigidly
attached to the padlock pin, for example permanently attached by welding.
Preferably, the
retainer arm extends perpendicularly to the axis of the padlock pin, so that
it is subject to
only bending and not twisting forces and doesn't apply forces to the padlock
pin that are
outside the plane perpendicular to the axis of the padlock pin. In a less
preferred
embodiment, a retainer arm bent away from a direction perpendicular to the
axis of the
padlock pin could be used, for example to connect to a connecting element on
the lug of the
bucket, either on the side 28 of the lug or end 30 of the lug.
[0017] Fig. 3. shows the padlock of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 as viewed from the
right side of
Fig. 2. A collar assembly 36 secures an end of the pin 18, in this embodiment
opposite to the
retainer arm 24, from sliding through the lugs. Section line A-A indicates the
section shown
by Fig. 3A. Circle B in Fig. 3A indicates the area shown in close up in Fig.
3B. As shown in
Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B, lugs 12 and 14 respectively contain bushings 32 and 34.
The bushings
provide bearing surfaces for the padlock pin 18. The retainer for the padlock
pin, by
restraining rotation of the pin relative to the bucket, prevents the pin from
spinning on
bushing 32, forcing the bushings 34 to deal with rotational friction relative
to the padlock pin
instead of bushing 32.
[0018] Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the padlock pin and retainer arm of
Fig. 1. As
can be seen in Fig. 4, padlock pin 18 in this embodiment is generally
cylindrically shaped
defining an axis. At one end of the pin, retainer arm 24 extends
perpendicularly from the
axis, and another end defines a groove 38 to receive collar assembly 36.
[0019] Fig. 5 shows an end view of the padlock pin and retainer arm of Fig.
4. In the
embodiment shown, weld 40 affixes retainer arm 24 to pin 18. Fig. Fig. 5A is a
section view
of the padlock pin and retainer arm showing the section A-A from Fig. 5.
[0020] Immaterial modifications may be made to the embodiments described
here
without departing from what is covered by the claims.
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[0021] In the claims, the word "comprising" is used in its inclusive sense
and does
not exclude other elements being present. The indefinite articles "a" and "an"
before a claim
feature do not exclude more than one of the feature being present. Each one of
the individual
features described here may be used in one or more embodiments and is not, by
virtue only
of being described here, to be construed as essential to all embodiments as
defined by the
claims.
