AU2018101607B4 - Wear plate fixing means - Google Patents

Abstract

In one aspect of the invention there is provided a fixing means for a wear plate, comprising an annular insert being attachable within a generally cylindrical hole that extends through the wear plate, a capping nut having an outer end comprising a 5 generally disc-shaped planar surface, the capping nut configured to abut with the annular insert, a blind ended threaded hole extending inwardly of the capping nut from an inner end, a threaded shaft and a cam nut. The cam nut being sidewardly elongate, wherein the threaded shaft is engageable with the blind ended threaded hole of the capping nut, whereby the generally disc-shaped planar surface of the 10 capping nut is positionable along, or parallel and adjacent an outer planar surface of the wear plate.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to fixing means for attaching a wear plate, which can be installed and tightened from one side and has a recessed wear resistant capping nut to reduce wear thereof. In one form, the wear plate is attached over a portion of the metal plate material of a materials handling chute.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Abrasion resistant wear plates or wear resistant steel liners, typically referred to as wear plates, are used in numerous applications where friction, caused by the 10 movement of an abrasive material across a surface, will lead to damage or degradation of machinery or material handling equipment. The removable wear plates are installed over the surface or machinery or equipment to protect the underlying surface.

An application in which wear plates are commonly used is on material handling chutes of mineral processing plants which are used to transfer an ore material between different pieces of equipment.

These material handling chutes are constructed from mild steel plate that is welded to form the chute body. A number of small sacrificial wear plates are attached over the inner surface of the chute in order to protect the underlying mild 20 steel and can be replaced at regular intervals.

Typically, each wear plate or liner is attached to the patent metal/support member using conventional fasteners, such as bolts, which typically must be accesses from both inside and outside the chute body to tighten each fastener. Often the nuts or bolt head of these fasteners protrude inwardly of the chute which 25 can increase wear and hang up of ore material. Other conventional systems include a countersunk bolt, however these still required access from both sides to facilitate tightening thereof.

Some systems, such as that disclosed in Australian Patent Application 2005313863 (DAVIES), have been proposed which include a fastener system for 30 fixing hardened plates includes a fastener element having either a frusto-conical nut

2018101607 25 Oct 2018 orfrusto-conical bolt head. However, the embodiments disclosed in DAVIES either result in an end of the bolt shaft extending inwardly of the chute body or requires access from both sides for tightening. Furthermore, DAVIES requires the drilling or cutting of a frusto-conical hole through the wear plate material, which can be a difficult and costly process, and the resultant hole may not accurately align the side of the frusto-conical nut or bolt head.

It is therefore an object of the illustrated embodiments to provide for a fixing means for attaching a wear plate that can be attached and removed from within the chute. Other objects of the illustrated embodiments are to overcome at least some of 10 the aforementioned problems, or at least provide the public with a useful alternative.

The foregoing objects should not necessarily be considered as cumulative and various aspects of the invention may fulfil one or more of the above objects.

It should be appreciated that any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification is included solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present 15 invention and should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art was widely known or formed part of the common general knowledge in the field as it existed before the priority date of the application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, but not necessarily the broadest or only aspect, there is proposed a fixing means for a wear plate, including:

an annular insert having an outwardly facing tapered surface, the annular insert being attachable within a generally cylindrical hole that extends through said wear plate;

a capping nut having an outer end comprising a generally disc-shaped planar surface, an inner end having a tapered edge for abutment with said tapered surface of the annular insert, and a centrally located blind ended threaded hole extending inwardly of the capping nut from said inner end;

a threaded shaft having a head at one end, the threaded shaft engageable with the blind ended threaded hole of said capping nut; and a cam nut including a threaded bore extending therethrough engageable with the threaded shaft, said cam nut being elongate along an axis that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said threaded shaft when attached thereto,;

wherein the capping nut, with threaded shaft and cam nut attached, are insertable

2018101607 25 Oct 2018 into said generally cylindrical hole whereby the head of said threaded shaft and the cam nut extend through the annular insert and at least partly through a sidewardly elongate aperture in a support member, which coaxially aligns the cylindrical hole in the wear plate, the capping nut being rotatable such that the cam nut is caused to 5 turn to thereby affix the wear plate to the underlying support member.

Preferably the outer planar surface of the capping nut includes at least two depressions for engagement with a tool for rotation of the capping nut. The tool may comprise a power hand tool that is used to fix the wear plate to the support member from one side thereof. In one form the capping nut includes four depressions space 10 apart evenly in the outer planar surface for engagement with a tool having four projections extending outwardly therefrom, each of the projections being configured to engage with a respective depression in the outer planar surface of the capping nut.

The cam nut comprises an outer portion, which is generally sidewardly elongate, adjoining an inner curved portion having smaller dimensions that is also 15 sidewardly elongate, whereby a shoulder or shoulders are formed at the junction between the outer portion and inner curved portion. When assembled the threaded shaft extends through the cam nut and engages with the blind ended threaded hole.

Preferably, the cam nut is dimensioned to pass through said sidewardly elongate aperture in a first orientation, and then may be rotated about said 20 longitudinal axis of the threaded shaft into a second orientation, whereby the shoulder or shoulders of the cam nut bear against a rear surface of the support member.

The capping nut is preferably constructed from, or at least coated in, the same material or a material that has similar properties to that from which the wear 25 plate is constructed. This means that the surface of the wear plate and capping nut abrade at a similar rate to ensure a generally flush surface. The capping nut may be of various thicknesses for different applications and for use on wear plates of different dimensions.

The material from which the wear plate and capping nut are constructed may 30 be a hard alloy, such as but not limited to, a chromium-carbide rich alloy, or the material may be a ceramic. Preferably, the Brinell hardness of said material may be at least 300HB.

2018101607 25 Oct 2018

The support member may be plate metal and in one form is a mild steel plate. In one form the support member is a portion of plate metal having a thickness of between 10mm and 25mm and preferably 12mm and the wear plate has a thickness of between 10mm and 100mm. It should however be appreciated that other thickness of plate/sheet metal or wear plates are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

The thread of said threaded shaft cooperates with the threaded bore of the cam nut and the thread of the blind ended threaded hole of the capping nut. In one form the cam nut includes a nylon collarthat is configured to inhibit loosening of the 10 threaded shaft therefrom. In one form the nylon collar is positioned on a side of the cam nut adjacent the head of the threaded shaft.

Preferably a grub screw is configured to engage through an aperture in the capping nut, wherein the aperture is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the blind ended threaded hole. The grub screw inhibits detachment of the threaded shaft from the capping nut. The reader should appreciate that this will inhibit components of the fixing means from dropping into the chute during installation.

Rotation of the capping nut causes the threaded shaft to be drawn into the blind ended threaded hole. The cam nut is then caused to rotate such that the 20 opposite sides of the inner curved portion bear against opposing sides of the elongate aperture in the support member, which inhibits further rotation of the cam nut such that as the cam nut is drawn deeper into the elongate aperture of the support member the shoulder or shoulders bear against the rear surface of the support member.

The outwardly facing tapered surface of the insert is preferably at substantially the same angle as the tapered edge of the capping nut, such the respective surfaces are able abut. The angle of the respective tapered surfaces of the insert and capping nut can be controlled during manufacture which may provide a more accurate alignment compared to drilling or cutting a tapered hole through the hardened wear plate material.

The cylindrical hole in the wear plate may be formed using a conventional hardened drill bit, plasma cutter or oxyacetylene cutter. Preferably the annular insert

2018101607 25 Oct 2018 is welded within the cylindrical hole at an inner end for positioning adjacent the support member.

The outer planar surface of the capping nut is preferably aligned with, or adjacent and parallel, an outer planar surface of the wear plate. The capping nut 5 preferably does not extend outwardly from the outer surface of the wear plate to thereby inhibit hang-up of material or excessive wear of the capping nut.

The wear plate may be used on material handling equipment including but not limited to chutes, crushers, shredders, scrapers, casting equipment, mill equipment, earth moving equipment, mining equipment, wear blades, choppers, bucket or any 10 applications where friction between two parts or materials creates degradation of the parent material. The phrase “support member” used throughout the specification should therefore be given its broadest definition, which includes, but is not limited to, steel plate.

In another aspect of the invention there is proposed a method of attaching a 15 wear plate to a support member, including the steps of:

fixing an annular insert within a cylindrical hole that has been cut in said wear plate, the annular insert having an outwardly facing tapered surface;

positioning the wear plate against the support member whereby the cylindrical hole coaxially aligns a sidewardly elongate aperture in said support member;

screwably engaging a threaded shaft through a cam nut and into a blind ended threaded hole of a capping nut, the cam nut being elongate in an axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said threaded shaft and dimensioned to pass through said sidewardly elongate aperture in a first orientation;

inserting the assembled threaded shaft, cam nut and capping nut into the cylindrical 25 hole whereby a head of the threaded shaft and cam nut are caused to pass through the cylindrical hole and coaxially aligned sidewardly elongate aperture; and rotating the capping nut to thereby draw the threaded shaft further into the blind ended threaded hole, whereby the cam nut is caused to rotate about said longitudinal axis into a second orientation, whereby a shoulder or shoulders ofthe cam nut bear 30 against a rear surface of the support member and an inner end of the capping nut having a tapered edge being caused to abut with said outwardly facing tapered surface of the annular insert;

wherein an outer end of the capping nut having a generally disc-shaped planar surface is positioned along, or parallel and adjacent an outer planar surface of the wear plate, whereby the wear plate being reversibly affixed to the underlying support member.

2018101607 25 Oct 2018

The above method further including the steps of cutting or drilling said cylindrical hole through the wear plate and/or cutting or drilling the sidewardly 5 elongate aperture through said support member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an implementation of the invention and, together with the description and claims, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a material handling chute illustrating the use of some of the multiple wear plates;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the fixing means of the present invention, comprising a blind capping nut, annular insert, threaded shaft and cam nut;

Figure 3 is a partially exploded view of the fixing means illustrating the cylindrical hole in the wear plate and the sidewardly elongate hole in the support member;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the fixing means extending through the coaxially aligned hole and aperture of Figure 3, illustrating a nylon collar and grub screw;

Figure 5 is a front view of the blind capping nut of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a rear view of the blind capping nut of Figure 2, illustrating the tapered edge and inwardly extending blind ended threaded hole;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the assembled blind capping nut, threaded shaft and cam nut of Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a rear partial perspective view of wear plate and support member of

Figure 3, illustrating the coaxially aligned hole and aperture;

Figure 9 is a front partial perspective view of wear plate and support member of

Figure 3, illustrating the position of the annular insert;

2018101607 25 Oct 2018

Figure 10 is a front partial perspective view of the capping nut, threaded shaft and cam nut being inserting in through the coaxially aligned hole and aperture of Figure 3;

Figure 11 is a rear view of the support member of Figure 10 illustrating the orientation of the cam nut, as it passes through the sidewardly elongate aperture;

Figure 12 is a side exploded view of the fixing means illustrating the cam nut in a first position;

Figure 13 is an assembly schematic view of the fixing means of Figure 12 illustrating the annular insert bearing against the tapered edge of the blind capping nut;

Figure 14 is a front partial perspective view of the wear plate and support member Figure 11, illustrating the rotation of blind capping nut which causes the rotation of the cam nut on an opposite side of the support 15 member;

Figure 15 is a rearview of the support member of Figure 14 illustrating the movement of the cam nut; and

Figure 16 is an assembly schematic view of the fixing means of Figure 15 illustrating the shoulders of the cam nut bearing against a rear surface 20 of the support member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED AND EXEMPLIFIED EMBODIMENTS

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings. Dimensions of certain parts shown in the drawings may have been modified and/or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity or illustration.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description, there is illustrated a fixing means 10 for securing a wear plate 12 to a support member 14, demonstrating by way of examples, arrangements in which the principles of the present invention may be employed.

Figure 1 illustrates an example of the utilisation of wear plates 12 to line an inner surface of a support member 14, in this example being a metal material

2018101607 25 Oct 2018 handling chute 16. Each ofthe individual wear plates 12 are attached to the sides of the chute 16 using a number of fixing means 10. The reader will appreciate that although the only three rows of wear plates are illustrated, the entire inner surface of the chute 16 will be covered by wear plates, as partially indicated by the broken lines.

Alternatively, a portion or portions ofthe chute 16 may be covered. The reader should also appreciate that although one example of a material handling chute is illustrated, the wear plates could be attached to chutes of different configurations or to other equipment or machinery without departing from the scope of the invention.

Figure 2 illustrates the separate components ofthe fixing means 10, which includes an annular insert 18, a capping nut 20 , a threaded shaft 22 and a cam nut

23. The annular insert 18 includes an outwardly facing tapered surface 24 and a central passageway 26. The capping nut 20 includes an outer end 28 comprising a generally disc-shaped planar surface 30 and in the present embodiment four depressions 34a-34d that are configured to engage with a correspondingly shaped 15 power tool (not shown). The capping nut 20 further includes an inner end 36 having a tapered edge 38 for abutment with the outwardly facing tapered surface 24 of the annular insert 18. A blind end threaded hole 40 extends inwardly ofthe capping nut 20 from the inner end, as illustrated in Figures 4 and 6.

Turning back to Figure 2, the threaded shaft 22 includes a head 42 at one end that is configured to engage through a cooperatingly threaded bore 44 in the cam nut 23. The cam nut 23 is generally elongate along an axis X that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis Y of the threaded shaft 22 where attached thereto. The cam nut 23 comprises an outer portion 46 that is generally sidewardly elongate and adjoining an inner curved portion 48 that is also sidewardly elongate but is of smaller dimensions. Shoulders 50, 52 are formed on either side of the cam nut 23 at the junction between the outer portion 46 and inner curved portion 48.

Figure 3 illustrates the generally cylindrical hole 54 that extends through the wear plate 12 and is configured the coaxially align a sidewardly elongate aperture 56 that extends through the support member 14. The annular insert 18 is affixed within the cylindrical hole 54 at an inner end 58 thereof. The reader will appreciate that the annular insert 18 may be welded or otherwise rigidly affixed within the cylindrical hole 54. Figure 3 is provided to illustrate the general position of components 18, 20, 22, however it should be appreciated by the reader that during installation of the fixing means 10, the head 42 of the threaded shaft 22 and the cam nut 23 passes inwardly

2018101607 25 Oct 2018 through the cylindrical hole 54, central passageway 26 and then through the sidewardly elongate aperture 56 as will be discussed with respect to Figures 10, 11 and 14.

Figure 4 illustrates a schematic view of the wear plate 12 and support member 14, showing the annular insert 18 welded within the cylindrical hole 54. The capping nut 20 with threaded shaft 22 and cam nut 23 attached can then be inserted in through the cylindrical hole 54, such that the outwardly facing tapered surface 24 bears against tapered edge 38 of the annular insert 18.

As shown the threaded shaft 22 is engageable with the blind ended threaded 10 hole 40 of the capping nut 20. A nylon collar 60 is configured to inhibit loosening of the threaded shaft 22 from within the cam nut 23. The reader should however appreciate that the additional nylon collars may be used or the nylon collar may be positioned elsewhere.

Figure 4 further illustrates the grub screw 62 that is configured to engage through an aperture 63 in the capping nut 20. The aperture 63 is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the blind ended threaded hole 40 and is configured to inhibit detachment of the threaded shaft 22 from capping nut 20. This means that during use the components of the fixing means 10 are held together and inhibited from separating, which could otherwise result in components dropping into 20 the chute 16 during installation or removal of the fixing means 10.

As further illustrated in Figure 4, the generally disc-shaped planar surface 30 is positioned parallel and inward of the outer planar surface 64 of the wear plate 12. The reader will however appreciate that the surface 30 may be coplanar with the surface 64, nevertheless once the wear plate 12 has been abraded by a certain 25 degree the surfaces 30, 64 will typically be generally coplanar.

Figure 5 illustrates a front end view of the capping nut 20, illustrating the position of the four depressions 34a-34d. The configuration of the four depressions means that they can be engages with a tool (not shown) including a head having four projections extending outwardly therefrom. The tool is manually or power driven to 30 impart torque to thereby cause rotation of the capping nut 20, as will be discussed with respect to Figure 14. The even spacing of the depressions 34a-34d means that the tool can engage in multiple orientations.

2018101607 25 Oct 2018

Figure 6 illustrates the rear end view of the capping nut 20 that includes the centrally positioned threaded hole 40 and annular tapered edge 38. Figure 7, further illustrates the position of the grub screw 62 and aperture 63.

In use the cylindrical hole 54 of the wear plate 12 is configured to coaxially align the sidewardly elongate aperture 56 of the support member 14, as illustrated in Figure 8. The annular insert 18 is welded within the cylindrical hole 54 at end 58, with the tapered surface 24 faces outwardly, as illustrated in Figure 9. The reader will appreciate that the annular insert 18 will typically be welded within the cylindrical hole 54 prior to positioning of the wear plate 12 against the support member 14.

The threaded shaft 22 is attached to the capping nut 20 whereby the cam nut is positioned between the head 42 and the capping nut 20. The threaded shaft 22 is screwed part way into the blind ended threaded hole 40. This partial engagement of the threaded shaft 44 allows for the fastener 22 to be tightened once the head 42 has been inserted through aperture 56. The grub screw 62 inhibits the threaded shaft 22 from detaching from the capping nut 20.

The assembled threaded shaft 22, cam nut 23 and capping nut 20 are then inserted in through the hole 54 in the direction of the arrow, as illustrated in Figure 10. As can be best seen in Figure 11, the cam nut 23 in a first orientation is dimensioned to pass through the aperture 56, wherein at least the outer portion 46 is 20 configured to extends outwardly from an opposite side to the capping nut 20, as illustrated in Figure 14.

Figure 12 illustrates the components 18, 20, 22, 23 with the cam nut 23 in a first orientation, and Figure 13 illustrating the nesting of the annular insert 18 and capping nut 20, with the cam nut 23 in the same orientation.

Figure 14 illustrates the assembled threaded shaft 22, cam nut 23 and capping nut 20 having been inserted into the hole 54, such that the tapered edge 38 of the capping nut 20 abuts the outwardly facing tapered surface 24 of the annular insert 18. As further illustrated in Figure 14, the outer portion 46 of the cam nut 23 extends outwardly from the rear surface 66 of the support member 14 and the inner curved portion 48 is positioned adjacent the edge of aperture 56.

A tool (not shown) then engages with apertures 34a-d and is used to rotate the capping nut 20 in the direction of the solid arrow, as illustrated in Figure 14, which

2018101607 25 Oct 2018 in turn rotates the cam nut 23 in the direction of the broken arrow, as the threaded shaft 22 is drawn further into the blind ended threaded hole 40.

The inner curved portion 48 of the cam nut 23 then abuts with the edge of the aperture 56 and the shoulders 50, 52 bears against a rear surface 66 of the support member 14, as shown in Figure 15 and 16.

As the reader will now appreciate, the head 42 of the threaded shaft 22 and cam nut 23 are dimensioned to pass through the sidewardly elongate aperture 56 in a first orientation, as illustrated in Figures 10 and 14, and then may be rotated about the longitudinal axis Y into a second orientation, as illustrated in Figures 15 and 16, 10 whereby the shoulders 50, 52 of the cam nut 23 bear against the rear surface 66 of the support member 14, to thereby affix the wear plate 12 to the support member 14.

The skilled addressee will now appreciate the advantages of the illustrated embodiment over the prior art. In one form the invention provides a fixing means for a wear plate that can be reversibly secured in place from a single side and the locking cap includes a generally planar outwardly facing surface which will inhibit hang up of the material or excess wearing due to bolt heads or shaft extending into the inner void of the chute 16 of a material handle device. The configuration of the present embodiment also inhibits parts from dropping into the chute during attachment and removal of the fixing means.

Various features of the invention have been particularly shown and described in connection with the exemplified embodiments of the invention, however it must be understood that these particular arrangements merely illustrate the invention and it is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the invention can include various modifications, which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (9)

1. A fixing means for a wear plate, including:

an annular insert having an outwardly facing tapered surface, the annular insert being attachable within a generally cylindrical hole that extends through said wear plate;

a capping nut having an outer end comprising a generally disc-shaped planar surface, an inner end having a tapered edge for abutment with said tapered surface of the annular insert, and a centrally located blind ended threaded hole extending inwardly of the capping nut from said inner end;

a threaded shaft having a head at one end, the threaded shaft engageable with the blind ended threaded hole of said capping nut; and a cam nut including a threaded bore extending therethrough engageable with the threaded shaft, said cam nut being elongate along an axis that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said threaded shaft;

wherein the capping nut, with threaded shaft attached thereto, are insertable into said generally cylindrical hole whereby the head of said threaded shaft and the attached cam nut extend through the annular insert and at least partly through a sidewardly elongate aperture in a support member, which coaxially aligns the cylindrical hole in the wear plate, the capping nut being rotatable such that the cam nut is caused to turn to thereby affix the wear plate to the underlying support member.

2. The fixing means in accordance with claim 1, wherein the outer planar surface of the capping nut includes at least two depressions for engagement with a tool for rotation of said capping nut.

3. The fixing means in accordance with any one of the above claims, wherein the cam nut comprises an outer portion that is generally sidewardly elongate adjoining an inner curved portion that is also sidewardly elongate whereby a shoulder or shoulders is/are formed at the junction between the outer portion and inner curved portion.

4. The fixing means in accordance with any one of the above claims, wherein the head of the threaded shaft and cam nut are dimensioned to pass through said sidewardly elongate aperture in a first orientation, and then are rotatable

2018101607 25 Oct 2018 about said longitudinal axis into a second orientation, whereby the shoulder or shoulders of the cam nut bear against a rear surface of the support member.

5. A method of attaching a wear plate to support member, including the steps of: fixing an annular insert within a cylindrical hole that has been cut in said wear

5 plate, the annular insert having an outwardly facing tapered surface;

positioning the wear plate against the support member whereby the cylindrical hole coaxially aligns a sidewardly elongate aperture in said support member; screwably engaging a threaded shaft through a cam nut and into a blind ended threaded hole of a capping nut, the cam nut being elongate in an axis

10 that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said threaded shaft and dimensioned to pass through said sidewardly elongate aperture in a first orientation;

inserting the assembled threaded shaft, cam nut and capping nut into the cylindrical hole whereby a head of the threaded shaft and cam nut are caused

15 to pass through the coaxially aligned sidewardly elongate aperture; and rotating the capping nut to thereby draw the threaded shaft further into the blind ended threaded hole, whereby the cam nut is caused to rotate about said longitudinal axis into a second orientation, whereby a shoulder or shoulders of the cam nut bear against a rear surface of the support member

20 and an inner end of the capping nut having a tapered edge being caused to abut with said outwardly facing tapered surface ofthe annular insert; wherein an outer end ofthe capping nut having a generally disc-shaped planar surface is positioned along, or parallel and adjacent an outer planar surface of the wear plate, whereby the wear plate being reversibly affixed to

25 the underlying support member.