Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO 2023/020816
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PROTECTIVE ELEMENT FOR A WEAR ELEMENT OF EARTHMOVING
MACHINES
DESCRIPTION
The present invention refers to a protective element for a wear element of
earthmoving machines, in particular, for protecting the front part of adapters
of
earthmoving machines.
Background of the invention
The components of earthmoving machines are subject to wear, and they need
protective elements to prevent or delay this wear.
One of the components that is subjected to this wear is the front part of
adapters. The
adapter has a rear part suitable for being fixed to the shovel, and a front
part suitable
for being housed inside a cavity of the wear element or tooth. The rear part
has an
attaching part, e.g., like two legs, an upper leg, and a bottom leg, the rear
part also
has a connection part which connect the attaching part with de front part of
the
adapter. The front end of the adapters is inside the cavity of the tooth when
the tooth
and the adapter are attached, but the connection part are exposed to the
ground and
to the excavated material, and that contact of the connection part of the
adapters with
the excavated material makes that area of the adapter be subjected to a high
level of
wear.
Therefore, mechanical protective elements are used to cover and protect that
area of
the adapter. It is necessary that these protective parts are mechanically
fastened to
the adapter to avoid using welding that can negatively affect the adapter, and
above
all to facilitate the change of that protective element. When this protective
element
has reached a high level of wear, that element should be changed by a new one,
without changing the adapter.
Adapters wear out especially in the upper part and in the lower part, the wear
on the
sides is reduced, because the greatest quantity of the material cross for over
and
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bottom part of the adapters, the laterals have some protection by other
adapters and
shrouds.
Usually, pieces called wear caps are used, which protect only the upper part
of the
adapter. Two wear caps can also be used, one on the top and one on the bottom,
but
in this case the sides are unprotected.
In small sizes there are little room to collocate two wear cups, and further
in some
fields or applications two wear caps are not necessary because the wear is not
enough to waste two wear cups, but in applications where the wear is
extremely, two
wear caps are very necessary, in normal conditions or when the wear is not
extremely,
an upper wear cap is necessary, this invention is for extremely wear
applications.
Another problem appears when, in larger sizes, the protective elements may
weigh
more than 20 kg. in these cases, the pieces are obliged, for safety, to carry
a lifting
eye, which allows them to be manipulated with a crane or hoist. In these
cases, the
lower wear caps are very difficult to place, due to two factors:
Firstly, because, also for safety reasons, a bucket cannot be manipulated
through its
lower area in the field, and it can only be done if the bucket is not mounted
on the
machine and located in the workshop.
Secondly, there is no upper access for accessing to the lower part of the
adapter and
to place the lower wear cap. The chain that supports the piece cannot be
placed
between the adapters and the center protectors.
In these cases where in large sizes it is difficult to place a lower wear cap,
the lower
section of the connection part of the adapters is usually enlarged, that is to
say, the
bottom connection part of the adapter leg is enlarged, but the downside is
that if the
wear is prolonged the bottom leg may break anyway. Even though at the end of
the
life of the adapter also ends in that area, the best thing is to have
protective elements
that can be replaced, and thus extend the life of the adapter in all its
perimeter.
Description of the invention
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Therefore, one purpose of the present invention is to provide a protective
element that
protects the entire front perimeter of a wear element of earthmoving machines,
in
particular, for protecting the connection part of adapters of earthmoving
machines.
With the protective element according to the present invention it is possible
to solve
said drawbacks, providing other advantages that are described below.
The protective element for a wear element of earthmoving machines according to
the
present invention is made from one piece, comprising:
- a first protective portion;
- a second protective portion placed opposite to the first protective portion;
and
- two side protective portions.
Advantageously, at least one of the side protective portions comprise an
internal
protrusion, and preferably both protective portions comprise an internal
protrusion.
That protrusion is used to guide the protective element over the adapter which
have
a groove to receive the protrusion, for positioning and maintaining in
position the
protective element.
According to a preferred embodiment, the, or each, internal protrusion has a
substantially parallelepiped shape defining a plurality of stop flat surfaces.
The
backwards movement of the protective element is stopped by the back stop
surfaces
of the internal protrusions. The upwards and downwards movements are stopped
by
the upper, frontal, and lower surfaces of the internals protrusions.
Furthermore, the side protective portions are preferably U-shaped, defining a
central
part and two lateral parts, and the, or each protrusion, is placed in the
internal central
part of the side protective portions, Positioning the protrusions in internal
central part
of the side protective portions, make the protrusions of the protective
element and the
groove in the adapter be less exposed to the wear, this optimized the designs
of the
protective elements and make them more efficiently and resistant.
According to a preferred embodiment, the side protective portions are flat,
the first
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protective portion is curved, and the second protective portion is also
curved.
Following the shape of the connection part of the adapter with an extra
thickness for
protection.
Preferably, the protective element comprises a lifting eye, which is placed in
the first
protective portion.
Furthermore, the protective element according to the present invention has a
collar
shape.
Furthermore, the protective element does not need a pin to be fixed in
position, it is
self-holding between the adapter and the tooth, so as a back surface of the
tooth
contacts with a front surface of the protective element, maintaining the
protective
element in position. The contact of the back surface of the tooth and the
front surface
of the protective element avoids the forward movement of the protective
element. That
is to say, the collar shape of the protective element of the present invention
allows
having a big frontal contact surface with the tooth, that firmly stops the
forward
movement of the protective element.
With the protective element according to the present invention, the following
advantages, among others, can be achieved:
- a better resistance and an increased efficiency;
- reduction of the stresses in critical points of the protective element;
- an optimized design of the protective element, having a height enough for
protecting
the wear element substantially but not protruding;
- it can be mounted from the upper side of the wear element, not being
necessary to
access to the lower part of the wear element;
- it increases the contact zone with the wear element in the whole
perimeter of the
protective element;
- it provides an increased stabilization, preventing undesired movements, in
particular,
rearwards and downwardly;
- the wear element is less exposed to wear, because by providing the
protrusion(s)
on the side portion(s), it permits to make more integrated designs; and
- with lower designs, the penetration into the ground is enhanced and
provides a
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longer life.
Furthermore, the positioning of the guides on the sides provides the following
advantages:
5 The geometries and position of the guides in wear caps is very
limited. In the current
wear caps, above all in small sizes, there is not much surface in the
upper/lower area
for these caps.
- They are less exposed to wear.
- The wearcaps are less exposed to wear, because by making the guide on the
side
it allows to make designs more integrated to the tooth-holder set. Also with
lower
designs, these improve penetration into the ground. (more penetration of the
system)
and with more wear material before being punctured (more duration).
The frontal contact surface also increases the contact zone with the tooth on
the whole
perimeter of the collar.
Brief description of the drawings
For a better understanding the above explanation and for the sole purpose of
providing an example, some non-limiting drawings are included that
schematically
depict a practical embodiment.
Figure 1 is a frontal perspective view of the protective element according to
the
present invention;
Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the protective element according to the
present
invention;
Figure 3 is a side view of the protective element according to the present
invention
mounted in its use position around a wear element; and
Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of a tooth provided with a wear
element and
the protective element according to the present invention.
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Description of a preferred embodiment
The protective element, identified generally by numeral reference 1, is used
for
protecting wear elements of earthmoving machines, in particular, for
protecting the
connection part 10 of adapters 7 of earthmoving machines, as shown in Figures
3 and
4. The wear element or adapter has a front part 8 a rear part 7, that rear
part
comprises an attaching part 11 and a connection part 10.
The protective element 1 according to the present invention is made from a
single
piece, and according to the shown embodiment, has a collar shape.
In particular, the protective element 1 comprises a first protective portion
2, which is
the upper protective portion in the use position, a second protective portion
3 opposite
to the first protective portion 2, which is the lower protective portion in
the use position,
and two side protective portions 4.
Therefore, the wear element or adapter is protected on their upper, lower and
side
parts by the protective element 1.
The first and second protective portions 2, 3 are curved, and the side
protective
portions 4 are flat. The first and second protective portions 2, 3 are curved
because
they are apart from the shape of the adapter, these portions are significant
parallel
from the adapter and the tooth.
As shown in the drawings, the side protective portions 4 are U-shaped,
defining a
central part and two lateral parts.
One or both side protective portions 4 comprise an internal protrusion 5, that
is used
as a contact or abutment portion with the wear elements tooth 9 and adapter 7.
In the
shown embodiment, the internal protrusion 5 is placed in both side protective
portions
4.
The, or each, internal protrusion 5 has a substantially parallelepiped shape,
defining
a plurality of flat surfaces, in particular, a frontal flat surface 51, a rear
flat surface 52,
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an upper flat surface 53, and a lower flat surface 54, as shown in Figures 1
and 2.
Furthermore, the protective element 1 according to the present invention
comprises
a lifting eye 6, in particular, placed in the external part of the first
protective portion 2.
This lifting eye 6 permits the placement and removal of the protective element
1 when
the protective element 1 is heavy and it cannot be moved by hand.
The placement and removal of the protective element 1 according to the present
invention can be done from its upper part, not been necessary to access to its
lower
part.
This is because the protective element 1 defines frontal and rear openings,
thanks to
its collar shape.
Once in its use position the internal protrusions 5 stabilize the protective
element 1,
preventing undesired movements with respect to the wear element 9.
As shown in Figure 4, the protective element 1 is mounted on an adapter 7 to
be fixed
or stopped with the wear element 7, mounted on the front part of the adapter.
Even though reference has been made to a specific embodiment of the invention,
it
is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the protective element
described herein
is susceptible to numerous variations and modifications, and that all of the
details
mentioned can be substituted for other technically equivalent ones without
departing
from the scope of protection defined by the attached claims.
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