AU2004100893A4 - Improved Locking Element Arrangement - Google Patents

Description

C04113i 1 IMPROVED LOCKING ELEMENT ARRANGEMENT O Background Of The Invention 00 [0001] The present invention relates to locking arrangements particularly those utilising pins for attaching an earth moving tooth to an adaptor for connecting the tooth to an earth rn moving bucket or similar equipment.

00 S Summary Of The Invention [0002] The present invention provides a tooth and pin assembly, wherein said tooth is O adapted to receive therein an adaptor secured to an earth moving implement, said tooth including apertures therethrough which are able to be aligned with one or more apertures through said adaptor when said adaptor is received in said tooth, said pin being adapted to sit in said apertures and having a head at one end and a shank extending therefrom of lesser diameter than said head, said pin further including a locking means to engage said adaptor or said tooth to hold said pin in a locked condition relative thereto, to thereby lock said tooth and said adaptor together.

[0003] The tooth can have an aperture through its upper surface which is dimensioned so that the head of said pin does not protrude past an upper surface of said tooth, when said pin locks said tooth and said adaptor together.

[0004] The adaptor can have a shoulder thereon which engages a shoulder on said pin, to limit the travel of said pin into said assembly.

[0005] The tooth can have a shoulder thereon which engages the underside of the head of said pin, to limit the travel of said pin into said assembly.

[0006] The pin can have the locking means located thereon so as to prevent said pin being locked into said adaptor or said tooth when said pin is inserted into said assembly in an incorrect manner [0007] The present invention further provides a pin to hold in a locked condition a tooth and adaptor assembly, said adaptor being received in said tooth, said pin having a head at one end and a shank of lesser diameter extending therefrom, said pin further including a locking means to engage said adaptor to hold said pin in a locked condition on said adaptor when said pin is positioned in aligned apertures through said adaptor and said tooth.

[0008] When in use, the undersurface of said head adjacent said shank is prevented from further actual movement into said adaptor by a shoulder present on said adaptor.

C04113i 2 O [00091 The pin can have an annular groove along its shank in which is received an external outwardly biased circlip wherein the distance from said undersurface of said head to the o; edge of said annulus which is furthest from said head is less than the distance from the underside 00oO of said tooth to the internal recess of said adaptor, thereby preventing said pin being inserted and locked when inserted into said tooth and adaptor in an incorrect direction.

C, [00101 The head of said pin is dimensioned so as to be received in and not protrude out o00 of said tooth.

[0011] The present invention also provides a tooth and adaptor assembly, wherein said tooth receives said adaptor, said adaptor being adapted to be secured to an earth moving implement, said tooth and said adaptor including apertures therethrough which align by said (-i adaptor being received in said tooth, said assembly including a pin having a head at one end and a shank of lesser diameter extending therefrom, said pin further including a locking means to engage said adaptor or said tooth to hold said pin in a locked condition thereby locking said tooth and adaptor in an assembled condition.

[00121 The tooth can have an upper aperture through it, which is dimensions so that the head of said pin does not protrude past an upper surface of said tooth [00131 The adaptor or the tooth can have a recess therein to engages with said locking means on said pin.

[0014] The adaptor can have a shoulder thereon which engages a shoulder on said pin, to limit the travel of said pin into said tooth and adaptor assembly.

[0015] The pin can have the locking means separated from said head by a predetermined distance so as to prevent said pin being locked into said adaptor or said tooth when said pin is inserted into said tooth and adaptor assembly in an incorrect manner.

Brief Description Of The Drawings [0016] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: [0017] Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of an adaptor, tooth and pin assembly; [0018] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a pin sub-assembly used with the assembly of figure 1; [0019] Figure 3 illustrates an exploded view of the assembly of figure 1; C04113i 3 0 [0020] Figure 4 illustrates a cross section through the assembly of figure 1, showing the (-i S pin in position; o [00211 Figure 5 illustrates the components of figure 4 in an exploded condition with the 00oO tooth and adaptor in cross section; and [0022] Figure 6 illustrates an assembly similar to that of figures 1 to 5, wherein the tooth Cc, has a shoulder to limit travel of said pin.

oO Detailed Description Of The Preferred Embodiments [0023] Illustrated in the figures is a tooth and adaptor assembly 10 which includes an adaptor 20, a tooth 30 mounted thereon and a pin 40 locking them together.

[0024] As is illustrated in figure 2, the pin 40 includes a head 42, which has extending away therefrom a shank 44. The head 42 is of a larger diameter than the shank 44 and produces a head under-surface or shoulder 50 which is adjacent to shank 44. The distal end of the shank 44 is finished in a chamfer 52 which allows the shank 44 to be "started" in the receiving apertures in the tooth 30 and adaptor [0025] The shank 44 includes an annular recess 46 intermediate its length, which receives an external circlip 48. The circlip 48 has chamfered upper and lower ends 47 and 49 respectively.

[0026] As is best illustrated in figures 1 and 5, the adaptor 20 has a rear shank 25 for securing to an earth moving bucket or other earth moving implement, which is not illustrated.

[0027] The adaptor 20 has a tooth engaging end 27 (seen in figures 3 and 5) which includes a surrounding shoulder 28. The tooth engaging end 27 has a generally triangular prismatic construction with an aperture 24 vertically therethrough. The tooth engaging end 27 has a counter-bored portion 22 which partially surrounds a radiused or rounded upper shoulder 23 forming the upper rim of the aperture 24. The aperture 24 proceeds all the way through the tooth engaging end 27.

[0028] Between the upper and lower openings or ends of the aperture 24 is a larger diameter recess 26 which is of a sufficient diameter to receive the external circlip 48 on the pin More will be said about this later.

[0029] The forward end of the tooth receiving end 27 has a recess 21 formed therein. The ground engaging tooth 30 has a cavity 36 which is complimentarily shaped to receive the shape of the tooth receiving end 27.

[00301 The tooth 30 has a boss 37 formed at an upper end thereof through which an aperture 32 is formed. On the underneath surface of the tooth 30, is an aperture 34 which is C04113i 4 S concentric with and thus aligned with the aperture 32. The aperture 34 is of a diameter to receive the shank 44 whilst the aperture 32 is of a size to allow the head 42 of the pin 40 to pass therethrough. By this means, the circumference of the aperture 32 can bear against the oO circumference of the head 42 in a radial direction only, with no bearing in an axial direction taking place.

C, [0031] The rear of the tooth 30 has a surrounding shoulder 38 which abuts the shoulder S 28 on the tooth engaging end 27 of the adaptor 20. The boss 37 includes an upper surface 33 at or below which the tooth 42 will sit when assembled as illustrated in figure 4.

[0032] To assemble the adaptor 20, tooth 30 and pin 40, the tooth 30 has its recess 36 pushed onto the tooth engaging end 27 of the adaptor 20 so that the apertures 32, 34 and 24 are in alignment. At which point, as is illustrated in figure 4, the pin 40 is inserted in the direction of arrow 60 so that the shank 44 and head 42 of the pin 40 pass through the aperture 32 and the shank's chamfered end 52 engages the radiused or rounded shoulder 23 at the start of the aperture 24.

[00331 The chamfered end 52 and the radiused or rounded shoulder 23 guides the pin into the aperture 24 and by applying compressive forces, such as by a hammer or by other means, the pin 40 will slide into the aperture 24 until the chamfer 49 on circlip 48 also engages the radiused or rounded shoulder 23 thereby radially inwardly compressing the external circlip 48 allowing it to pass into the aperture 24.

[00341 Further compressive forces on the pin 40 will force the pin 40 deeper into the assembly whereby the external circlip 48 will be aligned with the recess 26 on the adaptor Once these are aligned, the external circlip 48 can expand to the limits of the aperture 26 causing the upper and lower ends of the circlip 48 to engage, at least in part both the edges of the recess 46 and the recess 26, thus preventing the pin 40 from moving either in the direction 60 or in the opposite direction.

[0035] When locked in position the pin 40 has the head 42 at or below the top level 33 of the boss 37 on the tooth 30, and the underneath surface or shoulder 50 of the head 42 of the pin is prevented from moving further into the adaptor 20 by means of engagement with the rounded or radiused should 23.

[00361 The pin 40 as illustrated in figure 2 has a distance X which is typically 40mm in the preferred embodiment which extends from the surface 50 to the start of the recess 46 closest to the head 42. This distance X is smaller than the distance Y (which is typically 50mm) which is illustrated in figure 4 from the edge of the bottom surface of the tooth 30 to the start of the recess C04113i S 26 which is closest to the bottom surface of the tooth 30. By making the distance X smaller than the distance Y ensures that if it is attempted to fit the pin 42 from the undersurface, and if they o manage to pass the circlip 48 into the aperture 34, that the circlip 48 will not engage the recess 00 26, thereby allowing the pin 40 to be easily removed and correctly positioned in the direction through the top of the tooth 30 and the boss 37.

S[0037] Illustrated in figure 6 is an assembly of a pin 140 in a tooth 130 mounted on an adaptor 120. In this assembly the pin 140 differs from the pin 40 of figures 1 to 5, in that the pin 140 has a smaller head height and the tooth 130 provides a shoulder 123 which limits the travel of the pin in the apertures through the tooth 130 and adaptor 120.

[0038] Another difference is that the means to lock the pin 140 to the assembly is via an external circlip 148 which sits a groove 146 in the head 142 of the pin 140. The circlip 148 engages a recess 126 formed in the tooth 130 and locks the pin 140 to the tooth 130.

[0039] By positioning the circlip 148 in the head 142, an assembler is not able to insert the pin in an inappropriate direction into the apertures through both the tooth 130 and the adaptor 120. Further by the circlip 148 being located in the head 142, the recess 126 can be in the tooth 130, in a position which is easier to manufacture than in the middle of the adaptor 120 as in Figures 1 to 5. This also means that the aperture through the adaptor 120 can be a straight sided through aperture without the need of a larger diameter recess therein, as in figures 1 to [0040] A feature of the arrangement of figure 6 is during that the extraction of the pin 140, if any damage were to occur to the locking mechanism by the circlip 148 being forced out of or disengaging the recess 126, then that damage will be to the tooth that is being replaced, and will thus prevent, limit or minimise any damage to the adaptor 120, unlike the arrangement shown in figures 1 to [0041] In respect of the embodiment of figures 1 to 5, it will be understood that the external circlip 48 can be located in a groove similar to groove 146 of figure 6 in the head 42 of the pin 40. Similarly, a recess similar to recess 126 (see figure 6) can be provided in the tooth instead of the recess 26 being provided in the adaptor [0042] In the specification, the word "comprising" is understood in its "open" sense, that is, in the sense of "including", and thus not limited to its "closed" sense, that is the sense of "consisting only of'. A corresponding meaning is to be attributed to the corresponding words "comprise", "comprised" and "comprises" where they appear.

C04113i 6 [0043] It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined herein extends to all N, alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the S text. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.

00 [0044] While particular embodiments of this invention have been described, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific C forms without departing for the essential characteristics thereof.

oO [0045] The present embodiments and examples are therefore to be considered in all 0 respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims (3)

1. 2. An assembly as claimed in clam 1, wherein said tooth has an aperture through its upper surface which is dimensioned so that the head of said pin does not protrude past an upper surface of said tooth, when said pin locks said tooth and said adaptor together.
2. 3. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein said adaptor has a shoulder thereon which engages a shoulder on said pin, to limit the travel of said pin into said assembly.
3. 4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said tooth has a shoulder thereon which engages the underside of the head of said pin, to limit the travel of said pin into said assembly. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said pin has the locking means located thereon so as to prevent said pin being locked into said adaptor or said tooth when said pin is inserted into said assembly in an incorrect manner. Dated this 1 8 th day of October 2004 CUTIING EDGES PTY LTD by its patent attorneys Halford Co