Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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The present invention relates to earthworking equipment,
and is particularly concerned with a tool, or tooth, for use
with earthworking equip~ent in the form of a soil stabilizer or
trencher or earth excavating equipment or like machinery.
The tool or tooth accord~ng to the present invention is
illustrated and described particularly in connection with a soil
stabilizer, but it will be understood that the use of the tool
is not limited to this particular application.
A soil stabilizer is a machine which is employed, for
example, in certain regions in which the soil is of such a
nature that it can be broken up to a fine condition and then
supplied with additives, such as lime, salt, fly ash, cement,
or the like, which provides a hard foundation in the soil so
stabilized.
The mechanism employed for breaking up the soil is known as
a soil stab~lizer and consists of at least one shaft extending
generally parallel to the surface to be worked and having means
for supporting tools or support arms for tools which extend
generally radially in respect of the shaft.
The shaft i5 driven while the machine is advanced along the
region to be worked and the tools carried by the shaft will cut
up the soil and will reduce the soil to a satisfactory fine
condition for being mixed with appropriate additives as afore-
mentioned to provide for the soil condition referred to above.
Due to the abrasive nature of soil and, in particular, the
soil encountered under conditions wherein high silica soils are
encountered, ~he teeth or tools on such a piece of equipment
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wear out quite rapidly and the cost of replac~ng the teeth
periodically and including the down time of the mechanism is a
substantial item to take into account in respect of the prepara-
tion of roadbeds of the nature referred to.
The machines referred to, as well as other types of
machines, can encounter such high abrasive conditions and,
similarly, rocks are sometimes encountered and, furthermore,
sometimes the soil to be reduced is packed down relatively hard
and requires considerable effort to open the 80il Up S0 that the
machine can reduce it to the desired degree.
A particular object of the present invention is to provide
a tool arrangement for an earthworking machine in which the
life of the tool arrangement is substantially increased.
A further ob~ect is the provision of a tool arrangement for
an earthworking machine or the like in which renewal of the
working region of the tooth can be effected ~ reduced cost.
A still further object is the provision of an earthwor~ing
tool arrangement in which hard wear resistant material is so
loca~ed at the outer end of a support arm for the tool that the
arm is protected from abrasion.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a rotary shaft in a
machine supports plates or the like in respective axially spaced
planes which are perpendicular to the axis of the shaft. These
plates, in turn, support teeth or tools, or tool or tooth
supporting arms, in circumferentially distributed relation and,
preferably, also in axially distributed relation.
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Each arm or tool at the outer end, on a tool ~lement
mounted on the outer end of such an arm, is provided with a
forwardly facing edge portion provided with hard wear resistant
material inserted therein. Such material, in view of the
extremely highly abrasive conditions encountered in earthworking
operations, can advantageously comprise a cemented hard carbide
material such as cemented tungsten carbide or a like wear
resistant material such as might be formed by forming a compound
o~ a metal with boride or the like.
In general, each arm has a larger portion disposed in a
plane perpendicular to the axis of the support shaft and a
laterally offset end part. The o~fset end part may, itself, be
provided with hard wear resistant material mounted thereon or
inserted therein, or the end part may be configured to receive
and support a tool element having wear resistant material
applied to or imbedded in the forwardly facing edge thereof.
In one modification, the support arm is detachably mounted
in a block carried on one of the aforementioned plates and is
disposed in a plane extending substantially axially of the shaft
so that the arm is presented with the broad side facing in the
direction of rotation and with the outermost edge of the arm
provided with hard wear resistant material applied thereto or
inserted therein.
In operation, the hard edge of the tool elements mounted on
the outer end of the arm or the outex end of the anm effects an
initial penetration into the formation being worked and also
fractures hard portions of the tool element or the arm further
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breaks up the soil and admixes the soil to form a uniform
material for treatment to make up the rotor.
The tool elements, when such elements are provided, may be
detachably mounted on the outer ends of the support arms, as by
interfitting tongue and socket means, or the tool elements may
be welded to the outer ends of the arms.
The arms can advantageously be formed of bent strips of
sheet metal in which case the thickness of the arm is substan-
tially constant from end to end.
However, it is also possible to forge the arms, in which
case the thickness could vary from the inner end to the outer
end, thereby permitting the outer end to be made to a thickness
which would permit drilling or slotting or any other type of
machining thereof that might be necessary to accomodate hard
wear resistant inserts or to permit hard wear resistant plates
to be mounted on the arm or to be i~serted into recesses pro-
vided therefor in the arm. By the use of an arm of this nature,
welding operations to connect the tool element to the arm can
be eliminated.
The exact nature of the present invention will become more
clearly apparent upon reference to the following detailed speci-
fication taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in
which:
Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion
of a rotor of the type assocîated with an earthwor~ing machine
which operates as a soil stabilizer.
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Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the
outer end of an arm of the type that can be mounted on the rotor
of Figure 1 to form an earthworking tool member.
Figure 3 is a view like Figure 2 but shows a modification.
Figure 4 shows another modification according to the
present invention.
Figure 5 shows still another modification in which a tool
element is provided at the outer end of the arm which is
separable therefrom.
Figure 6 shows a modification of an earthworking element
that can be mounted on the arm of Figure 5.
Figure 7 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, showing
one end portion of the tool element of Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 but shows a modified
form whieh the tool element or the outer end of the arm can take.
Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing still
another modification.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings somewhat more in detail, in
Figure l, the shaft 10 is adapted for being rotatably mounted in
a soil stabilizing machine of a type adapted for working soil up
to about half the diameter of the rotor of which shaft 10 forms
the central part. A machine of the general nature referred to is
illustrated in the Stephenson United States Patent No. 3,737,199,
assigned to the same assignee as the instant application.
Rotor 10 carries a plurality of plates 12 in axially dis-
tributed relation and angularly oriented as illustrated in the
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drawings so that the corner portions 14 of the plates are
arranged in a substantially helical path.
Plates 12 are adapted for supporting generally radially
extending arms 16 which may be connected to the respective plate
12 as by a clamp bar 18 and clamp bolts 20. ~dvantageously,
the arms incline rearwardly from a radial direction as indicated
by angle A on Figure 1. However, the particular angle of the
arms in respect of a radial direction is not signi~icant except
that this angle is chosen to present the hardened forward edge
of the tool elements in the most advantageous position for
efficient soil penetration.
Each plate 12 in Figure 1 carries four arms 16 as shown in
Figure 1 and each arm has a forward working side as indicated
by reference numeral 22 in respect of the arm 16 at the bottom
of Figure 1 The working portion 22 is integral with or is
welded on or is detachably connected to the outer end of the
respective arm, as will be seen in the other figures making up
the drawings in this application.
However, each working portion of the outer end of an arm
is provided with hard wear resistant material therein, adYan-
tageously, cemented tungsten carbide, which will penetrate and
cut the earth engaged by the rotor as the supporting machine
for the rotor advances along its wor~ing path.
Various ways of providing the hardened forward wor~ing
edge on each suppor~ arm are illustrated in the other views in
this application.
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Referring first to Figure 2, the support arm 16 illustrated
therein has an offset outer end portion 24 which may extend, for
example, at right angles to the plane of the main portion 16 of
the arm. Offset outer end portion 24 supports a tool element 26
which is in the form of a block having a slot 28 formed therein
along the forward side at the top. Mounted in the slot 28 are
hard wear resistant elements 30 advantageously formed of hard
metal carbide, such as cemented tungsten carbide and, preferably,
brazed or soldered in place in slot 280
The block making up tool element 26 is notched at 32 at one
end so as to extend over the forwardly facing side of the
generally radial portion of the respective support arm 16 and,
in this m~nner, the forwardly facing side of the support arm is
protected against abrasion from the soil being worked. It has
b een found that the provlsion of the hard wear resistant material
in the plane of support arm 16 m2terially reduces the rate at
which the forward side of the support arm will abrade away or
"wash out~' as the machine operates.
In Figure 3, the support arm illustrated has a laterally
offset portion 34 at the outer end corresponding to offset
portion 24 in Figure 2. However, the arm itself is machined to
receive hard wear resistant elements 36 while a relatively
small tool element 38 is seated in the notch and supports f~rther
wear res~stant elements 40. In the case of both of the modifi-
cations of Figures 2 and 3, the blocks m~king up the tool
elements are advantageously held in position as by welding ~2.
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Figure 4 shows a modified arrangement wherein a support
block 50 is provided which is fixed to the support plate and
which block has a socket for receiving an end portion 52 of an
arm which extends outwardly ~rom the machine rotor and terminates
in a transversely slotted end por~ion 54 in which hard wear
resistant inserts 56 are mounted. The arm 54 and the block 50
may be provided with aligned apertures through which a retaining
pin 58 is inserted and bent over to hold the parts in assembled
relation~
In Figure 5, arm 16 corresponding to what is shown in
Figures 1 to 3, has an offset end portion 60 which has a socket
62 extending therethrough in the fore and aft direction adapted
to receive a tongue element 64 extending rearwardly from a tool
element 66 which, on the forwardly facing side, is provided
with a surface for receiving insert elements 68 of hard wear
resistant material which may, as mentioned, be brazed in place.
A feature of the Figure 5 arrangement is that the forwardly
facing side of the tool element is preferably inclined about 10
degrees to the axial plane of the rotor so that the portion of
2~ the tool element disposed in front of the forwardly facing side
of the support anm leads the remainder of the forward side of
the tool element. It has been found that this inclined forward
edge on the tool eLement promotes penetration of the tool element
into the earth and inhibits loading of the support arm to the
extent that it will bend during operation of the machine.
Figure 6 shows a tool element similar to tool element 66
of Figure 5 but in which the forwardly facing side of the tool
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element is provided with pointed insert elements 72 in trans-
versely distributed relation while therebetween there are
mounted the hard wear resistant planar elements 74 which, as in
connection with the Figure 5 arrangement, incline rearwardly
from bottom to top.
Figure 7 is a fragmentary view of tool element 70 drawn at
enlarged scale and shows more in detail the manner in which the
inserts 72 are configured and also shows the placement and con-
figuration of the hard wear resistant element 74. As before, the
wear resistant elements 56 in Figure 4, 68 in Figure 5 and 72
and 74 in Figures 6 and 7, are advantageously brazed in place on
the respective support therefor.
Figure 8 shows a tool element 80 having a forward earth
engaging portion having laterally spaced inclined planar elements
82 of hard wear resistant material which are braæed on surface
regions provided therefor which incline rearwardly from bottom
to topO Intermediate ~he elements 82 vertical surfaces are
provided on the forward side of element 80 and seated on these
~ertical surfaces and brazed thereto are log cabin shaped
inserts 84 of hard wear resistant material.
The arrangement of Figure 8 provides for edges on the lead-
ing sides of elements 84 which will penetrate and break up the
earth being worked while the inclined surfaces 82 will cause the
earth to turn in a preferred direction.
Figure 9 shows a support arm 16 with an offset outer end
portion gO to which is attached a tool element 92 as, for
example~ by welding 94 with the forward side of the tool element
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having a slot 96 in which ha~d wear resistant elemen~s 98 are
fixed as by brazing.
The forwardly facing side of the tool element in Figure 9
also advantageously inclines to the axial direction as in the
case of the Figure 5 modification and for the same purpose.
In every case, it will be understood that the hard wear
resistant material is advantageously cemented hard metal carbide,
such as cemented tungsten carbide, and that these elements are
advantageously brazed or silver soldered in place, although the
use of epoxy cement in certain instances is not foreclosed.
Each support arm 16 may be in the form of a strip of steel
of uniform thickness from end to end, and this may be obtained
from rolling and then cutting the rolled out strip to length and
bending the strip to provide for the offset end that is to be
found in each arm. Each support arm can also, as mentioned, be
forged, thus permitting the support arm to be made to any
desired thickness in any region thereof.
Modifications may be made within the scope of the appended
claimsO
