Quick-change type operation device of motor grader

Abstract

The invention discloses a working device for a working machine. The working device has a moldboard with moldboard holes and moldboard fasteners along a bottom surface thereof. The work device also has a batten with a set of apertures thereof to receive moldboard fasteners for attaching the batten to the moldboard. The clip bar slides around the moldboard fastener along a longitudinal axis of the moldboard from an open position to a closed position to attach the cutting edge to the moldboard.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to a work device associated with a motor grader. Background Art

[0002] A motor grader includes a working device mounted between a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels of the motor grader. The working device includes a moldboard coupled to a drawbar-turntable-moldboard (DCM) assembly of the motor grader. When the motor grader is used in a working operation, such as grading, the motor grader typically moves rapidly with the moldboard pressed against the ground or in a floating state. The cutting edge of the moldboard may become worn or damaged due to scraping the ground or contacting objects such as debris. Often, the worn cutting edge on the moldboard needs to be replaced, which is a time-consuming process that requires manually loosening many mechanical fasteners, such as bolts, screws, rivets, etc., that attach the moldboard to the cutting edge.

[0003] U.S. Patent No. 10,458,081 discloses a working device for a motor grader. According to the reference, a working plate is attached to the grader by means of mechanical fasteners. The disclosed mechanical fasteners may be bolts, screws, rivets, pins, etc., which may be removed by a user to replace the working plate. A trip edge assembly having a pivoting member is used to pivot the cutting edge to mitigate physical damage to the cutting edge when an object is struck by the cutting edge.

[0004] While effective, there remains a need for improved work device designs for work machines used in high wear applications such as construction and mining. Summary of the invention

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a working device for a working machine is disclosed. The working device has a moldboard, the moldboard includes a plurality of moldboard holes and a plurality of moldboard fasteners, the plurality of moldboard fasteners extending from the bottom of the surface of the moldboard. The working device also has a clamping bar, the clamping bar having a first set of clamping bar holes and a plurality of wedge-shaped structures located on the surface of the clamping bar. Each moldboard fastener extends through its corresponding clamping bar hole to connect the clamping bar to the moldboard. When the clamping bar is connected to the moldboard, the clamping bar can slide from an open position to a closed position along the longitudinal axis of the moldboard.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present invention, a clamping strip for attaching a cutting edge to a moldboard is disclosed. The clamping strip has an oblong hole that receives a moldboard fastener attached to the bottom of the moldboard to attach the clamping strip to the moldboard. When the clamping strip is attached to the moldboard, the clamping strip can slide from a closed position to an open position in the axial plane of the moldboard. The clamping strip also has a second clamping strip hole, which has a first radius portion and a second radius portion, and the radius of the first radius portion is greater than the radius of the second radius portion. The first radius portion is used to receive the cutting edge fastener after the cutting edge fastener first passes through the moldboard hole to attach the cutting edge to the moldboard. The clamping strip also has a wedge-shaped structure that is used to slide under the head of the cutting edge fastener when the clamping strip slides to the closed position.

[0007] According to another aspect of the invention, a motor grader has a frame, a drawbar-turntable-moldboard system coupled to the frame, and a working device coupled to the drawbar-turntable-moldboard system. The working device includes a moldboard having a moldboard hole and a moldboard fastener for attaching a clamp bar to the moldboard. The moldboard fastener extends from the bottom of the moldboard surface. The clamp bar has an oblong clamp bar hole that surrounds the moldboard hole when the clamp bar is attached to the moldboard fastener. The clamp bar also has a wedge-shaped structure located on the clamp bar surface, and the clamp bar is capable of sliding from a closed position to an open position along the longitudinal axis of the moldboard.

[0008] The above and other aspects and features of the present invention will be more readily understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a working machine having a working device.

[0010] Figure 2 According to the present invention Figure 1 A front perspective view of an exemplary work device associated with a work machine.

[0011] Figure 3 According to the present invention Figure 2 Rear perspective view of the working device.

[0012] Figure 4 According to the present invention Figure 2 Rear view of the working device.

[0013] Figure 5 is a partial view of a clamp according to the present invention, which is attached to Figure 2 operating device.

[0014] Figure 6 According to the present invention Figure 2A side view of a lateral end of a moldboard of a working device having a cutting edge attached by a cutting edge fastener.

[0015] Figure 7 According to the present invention Figure 2 A side view of a lateral end of a moldboard of a working device, the moldboard having a Figure 6 Another exemplary embodiment of a cutting edge fastener in which a cutting edge is attached. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Reference Figure 1 , which shows a side elevation view of a motor grader 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The motor grader 100 can be used to level uneven ground, such as removing snow, debris, etc. during the leveling process before road construction. The motor grader 100 includes a main frame 104. The main frame 104 supports various components of the motor grader 100, such as an engine 106, a cab 112, one or more rear axles 113, and rear wheels 114. The motor grader 100 also includes a front frame 116 coupled to the main frame 104. The front frame 116 supports a steerable front axle 118 and front wheels 120, which enable the motor grader 100 to steer on the road surface.

[0017] The front frame 116 also supports a work attachment 124. The work attachment 124 can be used to perform work operations, such as leveling or snow removal. The work attachment 124 is located between the rear wheels 114 and the front wheels 120. More specifically, the work attachment 124 is supported by a drawbar 126 and a turntable 128 in a drawbar-turntable-moldboard assembly 129. The drawbar 126 and the turntable 128 are both coupled to the front frame 116. Further, the work attachment 124 includes a moldboard 130 and one or more hydraulic cylinders 131 for supporting or moving the moldboard 130. The moldboard 130 is curved, such as a plow shape, and extends along a longitudinal axis AA to plow or remove snow, debris, etc.

[0018] Reference Figure 2 , which shows a front perspective view of the working device 124. The moldboard 130 includes a plurality of moldboard holes 132 (in Figure 6 and Figure 7 ), the moldboard hole 132 is depicted as a plurality of corresponding cutting edge holes 134 (in Figure 6 and Figure 7The cutting edge 135 is used to scrape the ground during working operation and is attached to the front surface 136 of the moldboard 130, such as the bottom end (also referred to as the bottom) 138 of the moldboard 130 at the front surface 136. The moldboard 130 can have a concave attachment portion 140 that is initially bent away from the curvature of the moldboard 130 before bending in the same direction (the curvature direction of the moldboard) relative to the curvature of the moldboard 130 to cover the top end 142 of the cutting edge 135 when the cutting edge 135 is attached.

[0019] like Figures 2 to 4 As best shown, the working device 124 may have side wear plates 144 attached to the working device 144 to reduce side wear of the working device 124, such as reducing side wear of the moldboard 130 during any working operation. Figure 2 As shown, the side wear plate 144 may overlap both the moldboard 130 and the cutting edge 135 from a front perspective.

[0020] See also Figure 3 , which shows a rear view of the working device 124. As shown, the working device 124 is attached to the rear surface 146 of the moldboard 130, and the working device 124 may also have an attachment assembly 148 for attaching the working device 124 to the work machine 100, such as the drawbar 126, the turntable 128, and / or the hydraulic cylinder 131 for attaching the working device 124 to the drawbar-turntable-moldboard assembly 129.

[0021] To attach the clamp bar 150, the clamp bar 150 may be attached to the rear surface 146 of the moldboard 130 at the bottom 138 using a plurality of moldboard fasteners 152. The moldboard fasteners 152, such as bolts, may be attached to the moldboard 130 by welding, or threaded into the moldboard 130, or extend completely through the moldboard 130, to be attached by nuts (not shown) on both sides of the moldboard 130, or extend away from the rear surface 146 of the moldboard 130. The clamp bar 150 has a first set of clamp bar holes 154 through which the moldboard fasteners 152 extend, such that when the clamp bar 150 is in an attached state, each of the first set of clamp bar holes 154 surrounds their respective moldboard fasteners 152. Each moldboard fastener 152 has a diameter or width that is smaller than the diameter or width of the clamp bar hole 154, such that the moldboard fasteners 152 may be inserted into and through the clamp bar hole 154. Once inserted through, the top of the clip fastener 152 has a stop gap 156, such as Figure 5As shown, a top end of a nut or bolt, such as a nut or bolt, has a larger diameter or width than the clip bar hole 154 to prevent the clip bar 150 from sliding off the moldboard fastener 152, thereby keeping the clip bar 150 attached to the moldboard 130. Between the stop gap 156 and the top surface 158 of the clip bar 158 may be a washer 160 or other feature to distribute the load from the moldboard fastener on the top surface 158 and prevent any damage to the top surface 158.

[0022] The clip hole 154 may have a Figure 5 The oblong or elliptical shape shown in FIG. 1 allows the clamp bar 150 to slide forward and backward along the rear surface 146 of the moldboard 130 along the longitudinal axis AA. Thus, the clamp bar can slide in one direction until the moldboard contacts the first side 162 ( Figure 5 ) and cannot slide further, the clamp bar can also slide in the opposite direction along the longitudinal axis AA until the clamp bar 150 contacts the opposite second side 164 of the clamp bar hole 154. As described below, the clamp bar 150 can slide from the open position and the closed position, and before moving to the closed position, the clamp bar 150 can move laterally along the moldboard fastener 152 relative to the longitudinal axis (tangential to the longitudinal axis) between the rear surface 146 of the moldboard 130 and the stop gap 156.

[0023] To attach the cutting edge 135 to the moldboard 130, the clamping strip has a second set of holes 162, such as Figure 5 As shown, the shape of the second group of holes 162 is different from the shape of the first group of holes 154. The second group of clamp holes 162 has a key shape, with a first hole portion 164 and a second hole portion 165, the first hole portion 164 has a first radius, and the second hole portion 165 has a second radius, and the second radius is smaller than the radius of the first hole portion 165.

[0024] Furthermore, in order to attach the cutting edge 135, as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the cutting edge 135 has a plurality of cutting edge fasteners 166 that are inserted through the cutting edge hole 134. The cutting edge fastener 166 has a first head 167 or a stop clearance such as a nut located on a first side of the cutting edge fastener 166, and a second head 168 or a stop clearance such as a nut located on a second side of the cutting edge fastener. Since the diameter or radius of both the cutting edge first head 167 and the cutting edge second head 168 are larger than the diameter or radius of the cutting edge hole 134, it is possible to prevent the cutting edge fastener 166 from falling completely through the cutting edge hole 134. In another exemplary embodiment, the cutting edge fastener 166 is attached to the cutting edge by welding or screwing into the cutting edge 135, so that only the first head 167 is required.

[0025] To quickly attach the cutting edge 135, the cutting edge fasteners 166 are first inserted into their respective moldboard holes 132. After passing through the moldboard holes 132, the first heads 167 of the cutting edge fasteners 166 are then passed through the first hole portions 164 of the second clamp bar holes 162 of their respective second set of clamp bar holes 162. Thus, the radius or diameter of the first heads 167 is smaller than the radius or diameter of the first hole portions 164 of the moldboard holes 132 and the second set of clamp bar holes 162. Once the first heads 167 have passed through the moldboard holes 132 and the second clamp bar holes 162, the clamp bar 150 is slid along the longitudinal axis from the open position to the closed position to securely attach the cutting edge 135 to the moldboard 130.

[0026] The clamp bar 150 also has a plurality of wedge structures 170 attached to its top surface 158. The wedge structures have a wedge shape or diameter or radius that is smaller than any width, diameter or radius of the first head 167 of the cutting edge fastener, but larger than the width, diameter or radius of the shaft 172 of the cutting edge fastener. The wedge structures 170 are U-shaped, and the U-shape surrounds the second hole portion 165 of each second clamp bar hole 162. As the wedge structures move away from the first hole portion 164 of the second clamp bar hole 162, the wedge structures become taller relative to the top surface 158 of the clamp bar 150. When the clamp bar 150 is slid to the closed position, each wedge structure 170 slides under each first head 167 of each cutting edge fastener 166. Therefore, when the clamping bar 150 slides to the closed position, the shaft 172 of each cutting edge fastener 166 changes from being surrounded by the first hole portion 164 to being surrounded by the second hole portion 165, and because the wedge-shaped structure 170 becomes taller, the clamping bar 150 is firmly attached to the moldboard 130. In other words, the increased height of the wedge-shaped structure 170 is equal to or greater than any remaining length of the shaft 172 of the cutting edge fastener 166 that is not surrounded by the respective holes of the moldboard 130 or the clamping bar 150, so that there is no excess portion for the cutting edge fastener 166 to slide, and the cutting edge fastener 166 is subjected to tension between the wedge-shaped structure 170 and the second head 168 (or from the cutting edge 135 if the second head 168 is not present).

[0027] To remove the cutting edge 135, the clamp bar 150 is slid back to the open position and the wedge structure 170 is slid from below and away from the first head 135 of the cutting edge fastener 166. The first head 167 can then freely pass through the first hole portion 164 and the moldboard hole 132 to remove the cutting edge 135 from the moldboard 130.

[0028] The clamping bar 150 may also have a handle 174 extending from the top surface 158 of the clamping bar 150. The handle allows a user to push / pull the clamping bar 150 to the open position and the closed position. In another exemplary embodiment, the handle may also be used as a striking point for a blunt object (such as a hammer) to tighten the system for driving the wedge structure 167 under the first head 167 of the cutting edge fastener 166.

[0029] Figure 7 Another exemplary embodiment is shown where the cutting edge fastener 166 is inserted into a sleeve 188 which is first inserted into the moldboard hole 132 and / or the cutting edge hole 134. In one embodiment, the sleeve may constitute the first head 167, or may serve as a bolt sleeve / spacer in another embodiment.

[0030] Although the present invention drawings show the clip bar 150 attached to the rear surface 146 of the moldboard 130, it should be understood that the present invention also includes attaching the clip bar to the front of the moldboard 130, or also includes attaching the clip bar to the working device 124. In the exemplary embodiment where the clip bar 150 is attached to the front, the entire process described above is reversed, and the cutting edge 135 can be attached from the rear of the moldboard 130 instead of the front of the moldboard 130.

[0031] Industrial Applicability

[0032] Generally, the technical solutions taught by the present invention can be applied to many industrial manufacturing, including but not limited to motor graders. For example, the technical solutions taught by the present invention can be applied to any industrial manufacturing that uses a moldboard to level or smooth the ground, or to remove debris from the ground.

[0033] The present invention relates to a working device having a moldboard 130 with a clamping strip 150. Due to the design of the moldboard 130 disclosed herein, which enables the clamping strip 150 to slide from an open position to a closed position to quickly remove and attach the cutting edge 135, the downtime caused by the wear of the cutting edge 135 can be reduced. For example, replacing the cutting edge 135 does not require manual removal of any fastener parts.

[0034] The design of the working device provides a solution for limiting the collision between the cutting edge 135 and objects in the travel path of the motor grader 100. In addition, the clamping strip 150 disclosed herein can be retrofitted on existing working tools without modifying the existing working tools. Further, relative to the moldboard 130, the cutting edge 135 can be easily connected to the working device 124 on site by only sliding the clamping strip 150 longitudinally.

[0035] Although the foregoing text relates to a detailed description of many different embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of protection for this patent is defined by the text of the claims at the end of this patent. This detailed description should be understood to be exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment, because it is neither possible nor practical to describe every possible embodiment. Many optional embodiments can be implemented using current technology or technology that appears after the filing date of this patent, which still falls within the scope of protection defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A working device for a working machine, comprising: a moldboard including a plurality of moldboard holes and a plurality of moldboard fasteners extending from a bottom of a surface of the moldboard; as well as A clamp bar comprising a first set of clamp bar holes and a plurality of wedge-shaped structures located on a surface of the clamp bar, wherein each moldboard fastener of the plurality of moldboard fasteners extends through a corresponding clamp bar hole of the first set of clamp bar holes to couple the clamp bar to the moldboard, wherein when the clamp bar is coupled to the moldboard, the clamp bar is configured to be able to slide along the longitudinal axis of the moldboard to an open position and a closed position.

2. The working device according to claim 1, wherein the clamp bar further comprises a second group of clamp bar holes, and the shape of the second group of clamp bar holes is different from the shape of the first group of clamp bar holes.

3. The working device of claim 2, wherein the working device includes a cutting edge, the cutting edge includes a plurality of cutting edge fasteners, and the cutting edge is configured to be removably coupled to the moldboard when the cutting edge fasteners are inserted through the plurality of moldboard holes and the second set of clamp bar holes.

4. The working device of claim 3, wherein the cutting edge is configured to be coupled to the moldboard after the cutting edge fastener is inserted through the plurality of moldboard holes and the second set of clamp bar holes and after the clamp bar is slid to the closed position. 5 . The working device of claim 4 , wherein the cutting edge is configured to be removable from the moldboard when the clamp bar is slid to the open position. 6 . The working device according to claim 3 , wherein each hole in the second group of clamp bar holes has a first hole portion and a second hole portion, and a radius of the first hole portion is greater than a radius of the second hole portion.

7. The working device of claim 6, wherein each cutting edge fastener of the plurality of cutting edge fasteners is configured to be inserted through the first hole portion of a corresponding hole in the second set of clamp bar holes when coupling the cutting edge to the moldboard.

8. The working device of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of wedge-shaped structures is configured to slide under a head of each of the plurality of cutting edge fasteners when the clamping bar slides to the closed position.

9. The working device of claim 8, wherein each cutting edge fastener includes the head and the shaft, and the head and the shaft are configured to be inserted through the corresponding moldboard hole and the corresponding clamping bar hole in the second set of clamping bar holes when the cutting edge is coupled to the moldboard.

10. The working device of claim 9, wherein the diameter of the head of the cutting edge fastener is greater than the diameter of the second hole portion of each hole in the second set of clamping bar holes.

11. A clamping strip for attaching a cutting edge to a moldboard, the clamping strip comprising: a first clamp bar hole having an oblong shape, the first clamp bar hole being configured to receive a moldboard fastener attached to a bottom portion of a clamp bar engaging side of the moldboard to slidably attach the clamp bar to the moldboard, the clamp bar being slidable along a longitudinal axis of the moldboard to an open position and a closed position; a second clamp bar hole having a first radius portion and a second radius portion, the first radius portion having a radius greater than a radius of the second radius portion, the first radius portion being configured to receive a cutting edge fastener that is attached to the cutting edge after the cutting edge fastener is first received through the moldboard hole on the bottom portion of the moldboard; as well as A wedge-shaped structure is configured to slide under the head of the cutting edge fastener when the clamping bar is slid to the closed position.

12. The clamping bar of claim 11, wherein the wedge-shaped structure is U-shaped and partially surrounds the second radius portion of the second clamping bar hole.

13. The clamping strip of claim 12, wherein the radius of the second radius portion of the second clamping strip hole is less than the radius of the head of the cutting edge fastener.

14. The clamping bar of claim 13, wherein the wedge-shaped structure is tapered relative to a top surface of the clamping bar and gradually increases in height as the wedge-shaped structure moves away from the first radius portion of the second clamping bar hole.

15. The clamping strip of claim 11, wherein the cutting edge fastener is removably attached to the cutting edge.

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