AU2014100829A4 - A ripper boot including a male carrier and a female tooth - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an improved ripper boot and, in particular, to a ripper boot for use in a range of applications involving the ripping or cleaving of hard material such as that encountered in opal mining. Problems have been encountered with particles becoming clogged in the space between the tooth shank and the carrier cavity, this being a result of the forwardly disposed gap between the tooth head portion and the carrier section, and the configuration of mating walls. The result is that the tooth can become caked inside the socket to an extent where it can no longer be removed. In order to alleviate this problem there is proposed a ripper boot characterised by a carrier adapted to be fixedly connected to a shank of a vehicle the carrier including an inwardly tapered male projection, a tooth including a hollow body and a head, the hollow body defining a female socket being correspondingly shaped with said male projection for engagement therewith. Typically the engagement is achieved by an interference fit. 10a 1Oa 14 06 20 36 Fig. 1 Fig. 2 16 10a 14 Fig 3 10a 14 Fig. 4

Description

1 A ripper boot including a male carrier and a female tooth The present invention relates to an improved ripper boot and, in particular, to a ripper boot for use in a range of applications involving the ripping or cleaving of hard material. The preferred application of the present invention is in opal mining where 5 hard ground is to be penetrated in an attempt to locate opal. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present inventor is the owner of a number of co-pending patent applications relating to ripper boot improvements, including Australian complete patent application no. 2006284527 relating to a ripper boot having a replaceable 10 ripping tooth. The ripping tooth includes a shank having tapered sides adapted to be press fit into a correspondingly shaped cavity in the boot so that it is fixed during operation for improved performance and reduced wear and tear. The contents of this co-pending application is incorporated herein by reference. As mentioned, this invention is useful in any application where extremely hard 15 and abrasive rock is to be penetrated and ripped, for example, in the extraction of precious stones such as opal, typically achieved through use of a bulldozer ripper boot, or in heavier duty operations which require excavators and the like. In each of these circumstances, the ripper boot teeth, loader bucket teeth, etc, need to be strong and wear resistant enough to work the hard rock. Conventional ripper boots tend to 20 break, and apply extremely high loads on machinery. Conventional ripper boots consist of predominantly two sections, a carrier section for attachment to machinery, for example, to a bulldozer tyne or loader bucket shank, and a tooth section which is typically integrally associated with the carrier section via a weld. In the applicant's abovementioned patent application, it is 25 proposed that the tooth section be made replaceable. More particularly, the proposed tooth section includes a shank having tapered sides being fixable within a correspondingly shaped cavity associated with the carrier section by way of an interference fit. Although very successful in its operation, some minor problems have been 30 encountered with particles becoming clogged in the space between the tooth shank 2 and the carrier cavity, this being a result of the forwardly disposed gap between the tooth head portion and the carrier section, and the configuration of the mating walls. The result is that the tooth can become caked inside the socket to an extent where it can no longer be removed. 5 It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome at least some of the aforementioned problems or to provide the public with a useful alternative. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore in one form of the invention there is proposed a ripper boot characterised by: 10 a carrier adapted to be fixedly connected to a shank of a vehicle, said carrier including an inwardly tapered male projection; a tooth including a hollow body and a head, said hollow body defining a female socket being correspondingly shaped with said male projection for engagement therewith. 15 Preferably said engagement is by way of an interference fit achieved when an inner surface of the female socket and an outer surface of the correspondingly shaped projection abut under pressure from the material being cleaved. In preference said carrier includes a longitudinal axis, whereby said male projection and said tooth female socket and said tooth head are disposed therealong. 20 Preferably said tooth head is formed at least partially from high tensile material. Advantageously said high tensile tip is constructed at least partially of tungsten metal. Preferably the cross sectional shape of the projection and the tooth female socket is substantially square. 25 In preference said tooth is removable from said projection by breaking said taper lock. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 3 The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several implementations of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings: 5 Figure 1 illustrates a rear view of a ripper boot in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 illustrates a front view of the ripper boot of Figure 1; Figure 3 illustrates a top view of the ripper boot of Figure 1; Figure 4 illustrates a side view of the ripper boot of Figure 1; 10 Figure 5 illustrates a side cross-sectional view of the ripper boot of Figure 1; Figure 6 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the ripper boot of Figure 1; Figure 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a ripper boot in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the ripper boot of Figure 7; 15 Figure 9 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a ripper boot in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 10 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the ripper boot of Figure 9. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying 20 drawings. Although the description includes exemplary embodiments, other embodiments are possible, and changes may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts. 25 The present invention relates to an improved ripper boot according to three different embodiments 1Oa, 1Ob and 1Oc. The ripper boot 1Oa is illustrated in Figures 4 1-6, ripper boot 1Ob in Figures 7-8, and ripper boot 1Oc in Figures 9-10. For the purpose of brevity, the first ripper boot 10a will be described in full detail and any like parts found in the other embodiments will not be described again and will be referred to using like numbers. 5 Figures 1-6 illustrate the ripper boot 10a of the present invention which includes a carrier 14 and a replaceable ripping tooth 16. In operation, the carrier 14 is placed over and conformed to fit with a ripper boot tyne of a bulldozer (not shown) or other earth moving machinery. The carrier 14 is held in place by utilisation of a pair of oppositely positioned 10 retaining holes 20 located in the rear hollow portion 22 of the carrier 14 which, in conjunction with a retaining pin (not shown), is designed to attach the carrier 14 of the ripper boot 10a to the available tyne 18. It is to be understood that the carrier 14 may be conformed to fit any available ripper boot shank, and that any desired attachment means other than the retaining pin 24 and oppositely positioned retaining holes 20 15 may be used. The ripper boot carrier 14 also includes a substantially solid portion 26 at its front. This solid portion 26 provides mass and assists in the ripping mechanism to some degree, and also provides a male projection 28 which in the embodiment shown is shaped substantially like a four-sided pyramid having a sawn-off apex. 20 The replaceable ripping tooth 16 is made up of a head portion 30 and a female body 32. Primarily, the female body 32 provides a female socket or bore 34. The bore 34 includes longitudinal walls that taper outwardly and which are conformed to fit over the male projection 28 of the carrier 14. The projection 28 of the carrier 14 is thus correspondingly shaped with the 25 female socket 34 of the tooth 16, and allows the projection 28 to be fixedly secured within the female socket 34 by way of an interference fit, otherwise known as a taper lock. As those skilled in the art would realise, an interference fit is extremely strong and will not permit any rotation of the replaceable ripping tooth 16, even if say the side walls had a circular cross section. In preference, the socket 34 is cast so as to 30 ensure that its internal dimensions correspond with those of the male projection 28.

5 One of the benefits of the present invention is that the taper locked walls are less inclined to receive small particles of rock, including clay fines, which are a known cause of irrevocably locking the male and female portions together. This is because the engaging walls are located effectively inside the ripping tooth as opposed 5 to inside the carrier 14 and are not disposed in the path of motion of rock which is being cleaved through. Because of the forward cleaving action of the boot 10, and the configuration of the tooth 16, it is unlikely that fines will enter the gap between the base of the tooth body 32 and the solid portion 26 of the carrier 14 and then travel forwards between the taper locked side walls. Thus, even after extensive use, the tooth 10 16 should still be easily removable and replaceable, without having to remove the carrier 14 from the dozer. Once the tooth is fixed onto the projection 28, the head portion 30 extends longitudinally outwards from the boot. The head portion 30 of the tooth is designed not to extend too far outwards from the carrier 14 so as to ensure it is not damaged or 15 broken off during the ripping process. The head portion 30 can be made of high tensile strength material, such as tungsten for example. A high tensile tip ensures that even the hardest rock may be penetrated and that problems associated with existing ripper boot tips which become easily worn are minimised. It is to be understood that the ripper boot 10 of the present invention is not 20 limited in its use and may be used in association with a wide variety of machinery including small to large bulldozer rippers, end cutting bits on dozer blades, dragline buckets, bucket dredges, excavators, and loader bucket teeth. In some of these larger operations, the present invention becomes particularly effective because of the labour and cost involved in the need to replace such heavy pieces of equipment from the 25 machinery, and instead just having to replace an easily removeable, lighter weight cap. In cases where the tooth may become prone to rust, for example in applications where the tolerances between the tooth and the projection are not required to be so tight, it is envisaged that the projection 26 and/or tooth 16 can be 30 coated with a suitable rust-proof coating.

6 In order to ensure that the replaceable ripping tooth 16 is always fixed within the carrier 14 during use, a secondary locking means may also be used, preferably in the form of a retaining pin 36. The ripper boot 10 embodied in Figures 1-6 includes such a retaining pin 36. The projection 28 includes a groove 38 extending transversely 5 across a lower side thereof such that when it is fully inserted into socket 34, the groove 38 becomes co-axially aligned with an aperture 40 which extends transversely through the body 32 of the tooth 16. Once aligned, the retaining pin 36 may simply be inserted through the aligned holes to lock the tooth in place. It is to be understood that the groove 38 need not extend all the way through 10 the projection, but may for example only extend halfway, in which case the locking pin 36 would be half of the length shown, and an aperture 40 would only need to be present through one face of the tooth body 32. It is envisaged that an interference fit is adequate in maintaining the tooth fixed within the socket, but a secondary locking means such as the locking pin may be 15 used if required. The pin may be of the compressible type whereby prior to insertion, its cross section must be compressed so that following insertion it expands to provide a tighter fit. Removal of the ripping tooth 16 from the carrier 12 may be accomplished by simply breaking the taper lock between the engaging walls using any suitable prying 20 tool. It is to be understood that the configuration of the ripping tooth 16 may vary. In this case, the head 30 is a rounded-type head, however, it could potentially include a double inward taper. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, the cross-sectional shape of the projection 28 and socket 34 need not be square but may be any other shape such as 25 triangular or circular, provided an interference fit is still achievable. The second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figures 7-8 and relates to a ripper boot 10b which has the same interference fit tooth 16 as described above, but which includes an alternate angle of attack. In having an upwardly angled solid portion 26 and projection 28, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the 30 ripping tooth 16 once fitted onto the projection will also be angled with respect to the carrier 14.

7 The angle of the solid portion 26 is shown in the drawings to be quite substantial for the purpose of clarity, however, through experimentation it has been found that an angle of approximately 6 degrees from the longitudinal axis of the carrier body is optimal. At this angle, the outer surface of the ripping tooth becomes 5 aligned approximately parallel with the layers of rock being cleaved. These layers are typically, but not always, parallel with the ground surface. Existing ripper boots, including ripper boot 10a, may be modified to include the features of ripper boot 10b. It has been found that when the tooth is positioned at this angle, the boot cleaves through the ground more efficiently than hitherto known ripper boot 10 arrangements resulting in benefits such as reduced chatter, reduced wear and tear on the tooth, and reduced load on the bulldozer. It is to be understood that the angle at which the solid portion 26 and projection 28 extend with respect to the carrier 14 may be made to vary depending on the required operation. A raised angle of attack could equally well be achieved by having a solid 15 portion 26 and projection 28 extending longitudinally with respect to the carrier 12, as was the case in the ripper boot 1Oa of the first embodiment, but with socket 34 cast at a predetermined angle inside the tooth 16 so that the ripping tooth 16 may extend outwards therefrom at that angle. Figures 9-10 illustrate a ripper boot 10c according to a third aspect of the 20 invention. Rather than having a single socket arrangement, the tooth 50 includes two sockets for receiving two projections of the carrier 14. There are two head portions 52 and 54 associated with the tooth 50. Such a configuration may be suitable in a number of different applications including in excavator loader buckets which require a plurality of teeth for their operation. For example, a single loader bucket may include 25 a single shank portion (not shown) for attachment thereto of a single carrier section having a plurality of associated tooth sections. As already mentioned, the present invention is not intended to be limited to any one of these configurations. Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown 30 and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope 8 and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.

Claims (5)

1. A ripper boot characterised by: a carrier adapted for connection to a shank of a vehicle; a locking tapered male projection associated with a tip of said carrier; 5 a replaceable ripping cap including a substantially conical outer shape terminating in a tip of high tensile material, said cap further including a locking tapered bore to mate with said locking tapered male projection such that said cap is non-rotatably secured on said ripper boot carrier by way of locking interference fit such that during use said replaceable ripping cap does not rotate and said locking interference fit prevents 10 particulate matter from entering between walls of said cap and said male projection.

2. A ripper boot as characterised in claim 1 wherein said locking tapered male projection is inwardly tapered such that its cross sectional dimension is less at the tip of the carrier, said locking tapered bore having a corresponding inward taper.

3. A ripper boot as characterised in any one of the above claims wherein the carrier 15 includes a central longitudinal axis and the male projection and engaged cap extend along said longitudinal axis such that the angle of attack is greater than the angle of the surface being worked.

4. A ripper boot as characterised in any one of the above claims wherein the male projection and the cap include transverse channels extending there through which 20 become co-axially aligned when the projection is engaged within said cap bore, to allow for insertion of a retaining pin.

5. A ripper boot characterised by: a carrier including a male projection at a working end thereof; a replaceable ripping cap including an associated socket; 25 said replaceable ripping cap being secured to said catrer by way of an interference fit so that during use said replaceable ripping cap does not rotate; said interference fit prevents particulate matter from entering between walls of said cap and said associated socket; said male projection has a tapered wall; 30 said cap has a tapered socket to mate with said tapered wall; and wherein: said cap has a substantially conical outer shape and terminates in a tip constructed at least partially of high tensile material; said cap and said carrier engage by a mating relationship between said socket and said 10 correspondingly shaped male projection, said socket and male projection being inwardly tapered to thereby establish a taper lock between the carrier and cap, said cap being removable from the carrier when said taper lock is broken.