Bore-linked material handling attachment

Abstract

A bore-linked material handling attachment includes a blade-side jaw beam and a guide-side jaw beam. A blade-side bore linkage consisting of a single continuous plate includes a rearward blade-side cylinder bore aperture and a forward blade-side pivot bore aperture coaxial with a blade-side pivot bore in the blade-side jaw beam. A guide-side bore linkage consisting of a single continuous plate includes a rearward guide-side cylinder bore aperture and a forward guide-side pivot bore aperture coaxial with the guide-side pivot bore of the guide-side jaw beam. A forward periphery of the blade-side bore linkage and the guide-side bore linkage is welded to a forward periphery of the respective blade-side jaw beam and guide-side jaw beam. A rearward periphery of the blade-side jaw beam and the rearward periphery of the guide-side jaw beam is welded to the respective blade-side bore linkage and guide-side bore linkage.

Description

BORE-LINKED MATERIAL HANDLING ATTACHMENTBACKGROUND

[0001] Material handling attachments, such as shear attachments, pulverizer attachments, concrete cracker attachments, rail breaker attachments, rebar shear attachments and some grapple attachments, include upper and lower jaws supported from a main body. The main body is typically mounted to the boom or stick of the excavator via a swivel attachment which allows the material handing attachment to swivel or rotate relative to the boom or stick, allowing the jaws to be positioned in the desired orientation to shear, crush or grab the material being processed. In some configurations, both the upper and lower jaws pivot. In other configurations, only the upper jaw pivots toward a fixed lower jaw. One or more hydraulic cylinders are disposed within the main body to open and close the jaws. As the jaws are closed around the metal being sheared, or the concrete being crushed, or around the material being grabbed, tremendous forces are generated which must be resisted by the steel plates comprising the jaws and main body of the material handling attachment. When designing material handling attachments, finite element analysis (FEI) is typically employed to identify the stresses that can be expected to occur in the structure under various loading conditions. The main body and the jaws are then designed to withstand the stresses while attempting to minimize thicknesses of the steel in order to reduce the weight and cost of the structure. In the areas of highest stress concentrations, the necessary thickness of the steel is generally achieved by layering and welding one or more steel plates together to achieve the necessary thickness. However, when transitioning from thicker steel plates to thinner steel plates, stress concentration can occur in the steel and weld joints at these transition areas, which can result in fracturing of the welds or the steel plates.

[0002] Additionally, because the main body and jaws of these material handling attachments are typically vary large and heavy, utilizing very thick steel plates, the fabrication and assembly process presents challenges. By way of example, shear attachments can vary in weight from around 3,000 pounds, with a reach of about 5 feet and ajaw opening of about 16 inches, to a weight in excess of 50,000 pounds, with a reach of over 20 feet and a jaw opening of about 54 inches. Typically, the main body is separately preassembled as one subassembly and the lower jaw is separately preassembly assembled as another subassembly. These two subassemblies are then fitand welded together. Due to the thicknesses of the steel involved and the size and weight of each subassembly, each subassembly is very rigid and each can vary slightly in shape due to unavoidable deformations introduced during the welding process and other manufacturing variables. As such, although the subassemblies are designed to mate with one another, it is not an uncommon for there to be misalignments or interferences which prevent the proper mating of the subassemblies. When this happens, time-consuming and difficult manipulation to fit the lower jaw subassembly into the main body subassembly. The manipulation of the subassemblies may require welding temporary grab points onto the steel plates, using heavy equipment attached to the grab points to pull and push on the components of the subassemblies to get them to properly mate. Once the subassemblies are properly mated, the subassemblies are then welded together. Because the components are welded together after being forced to fit together, unwanted internal stresses may be introduced into the weld joints of the mating subassemblies and the surrounding steel upon releasing the equipment used to push and pull the components together. Finally, after removing the equipment used to push and pull on the temporary grab points, these temporary grab points must then be removed and the temporary welds ground off, resulting in additional manufacturing time and costs.

[0003] Accordingly, there is a need for a material handling attachment design which minimize the use or overlapping plates where stress concentrations can occur, thereby improving the longevity of the material handling attachment and which is more efficient to assemble by avoiding the aforementioned difficulties.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. 1 is a right front perspective view (from the position of the operator) of an embodiment of a conventional shear attachment.

[0005] FIG. 2 is a left front perspective view of the conventional shear attachment of FIG. 1.

[0006] FIG. 3 is a right side elevation view of the conventional shear attachment of FIG. 1.

[0007] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view to the conventional shear attachment of FIG. 1.

[0008] FIG. 5 is an exploded right front perspective view of the stick body of the conventional shear attachment of FIG. 1.

[0009] FIG. 6 is a right front perspective view of the assembled stick body of FIG. 5 and showing the upper jaw.

[0010] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the stick body as viewed along lines 7-7 of FIG. 6 as .

[0011] FIGs. 7A, 7B and 7C are enlarged views of the areas of the stick body circled in FIG. 7.

[0012] FIG. 8 is a right rear perspective view of the stick body of FIG. 6 showing a representation of a finite element analysis model identifying areas of stress concentrations in the sidewall.

[0013] FIG. 9 is a right front perspective view of an embodiment of a bore-linked shear attachment.

[0014] FIG. 10 is a left front perspective view of the bore-linked shear attachment of FIG. 9.

[0015] FIG. 11 is a right side elevation view of the bore-linked shear attachment of FIG. 9.

[0016] FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the stick body of the bore-linked shear attachment of FIG. 9.

[0017] FIG. 13 is a right front perspective view of the assembled stick body of FIG. 12 and showing the upper jaw.

[0018] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the stick body as viewed along lines 14-14 of FIG. 13.

[0019] FIGs. 14A and 14B are enlarged views of the areas of the stick body circled in FIG. 14.

[0020] FIG. 15 is a right rear perspective view of the stick body of FIG. 13 showing a representation of a finite element analysis model identifying areas of stress concentrations in the sidewall.

[0021] FIG. 16 is a right front perspective view of another embodiment of a bore-linked shear attachment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Referring to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate the same or corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIGs. 1 is a right front perspective view of a conventional shear attachment 10. FIG. 2 is a left front perspective view of the conventional shear attachment 10. The shear attachment 10 has a forward end 12 and a rearward end 14 and includes a main body subassembly 20, a movable upper jaw member 40 and a stationary or fixed lower jaw subassembly 50. FIG. 3 is a right side elevation view of the conventional shear attachment 10 of FIG. 1 showing the internal hydraulic cylinder 70 and illustrating the pivotal movement of the upper jaw member 40 and hydraulic cylinder 70, in dashed lines.

[0023] As best viewed in the partially exploded view of FIG. 6, the upper jaw member 40 includes a blade-side 42, a guide-side 44, a forward nose 45, a rearward lobe 46 and a lower lobe 48. The rearward lobe 46 includes a rearward lobe bore 47. The lower lobe 48 includes a lower lobe bore 49. As best viewed in FIG. 1, a piercing tip 41 is secured by threaded connectors to the forward nose 45. Upper shear blades 43 are secured by threaded connectors to the blade-side 42 of the upper jaw 40 rearward of the piercing tip 41.

[0024] The lower jaw subassembly 50 is comprised of a blade-side jaw beam 52, a guide-side jaw beam 54, a front cross beam 56 and a rear spacer 58. The front cross beam 56 laterally separates and joins the forward ends of the blade-side jaw beam 52 and guide-side jaw beam 54. The rear spacer 58 laterally separates and joins the rearward ends of the blade-side jaw beam 52 and the guide-side jaw beam 54. The lateral separation of the blade-side jaw beam 52 and guide-side jaw beam 54 defines a jaw slot 59 therebetween. As best viewed in FIG. 6, the upper rearward end of the blade-side jaw beam 52 includes a guide-side pivot bore 61-1 and the upper rearward end of the guide-side jaw beam 54 includes a guide-side pivot bore 61-2. When the upper jaw member 40 is mounted to the lower jaw subassembly 50, the lower lobe bore 49 aligns with the pivot bores 61-1, 61-2. A main pivot assembly 60 (FIGs. 1-3) extends through the pivot bores 61-1, 61-2 and the aligned lower lobe bore 49 of the upper jaw member 40, thereby pivotally supporting the upper jaw member 40 between the rearward ends of the blade-side jaw beam 52 and the guide-side jaw beam 54 of the lower jaw subassembly 50.

[0025] As best viewed in FIGs. 1 and 2, lower shear blades 53 are secured by threaded connectors to the blade-side jaw beam 52 of the lower jaw assembly 50. Guide blades 55 are secured by threaded connectors to each of the blade-side jaw beam 52 and guide-side jaw beam 54. A cross blade 57 extends laterally between the opposing guide blades 55 and is secured by threaded connectors to the front cross beam 56.

[0026] Referring to FIG. 3, the hydraulic cylinder 70 is disposed within the main body subassembly 20 and includes a cylinder barrel 72 and a cylinder rod 74. As is well known in the art, the cylinder rod 74 is configured to extend and retract based on the flow of the hydraulic fluid into and out of the cylinder barrel 72. The lower rearward end of the cylinder barrel 72 includes a rear mounting block 75 with a central aperture to receive a rear cylinder pin 76 that extends through rear cylinder pin bores 71-1, 71-2 (FIGs. 5 and 7) in the main body subassembly 20, thereby pivotally supporting the rearward end of the hydraulic cylinder 70 within the main body subassembly 20. The upper end of the cylinder rod 74 includes a forward clevis 77 with a central aperture that receives a forward cylinder pin 78 which extends through the rearward lobe bore 47 in the rearward lobe 46 of the upper jaw member 40, thereby pivotally securing the forward end of the cylinder rod 74 to the rearward lobe 46 of the upper jaw member 40. In operation, as the cylinder rod 74 extends from the cylinder barrel 72, the upper jaw member 40 will pivot downwardly about the pivot assembly 60 toward the lower jaw subassembly 50 as indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 3. When the cylinder rod 74 is fully extended, the upper jaw member 40 is fully closed with respect to the lower jaw subassembly 50 and is received within the jaw slot 59. Conversely, when the cylinder rod 74 is retracted within the cylinder barrel 72, the upper jaw member 40 will pivot upwardly about the pivot assembly 60 away from the lower jaw subassembly 50. When the cylinder rod 74 is fully retracted, the upper jaw member 40 is fully open with respect to the lower jaw subassembly 50 as shown in solid lines in FIG. 3.

[0027] A swivel assembly 80 may be secured to the rearward end 14 of the main body subassembly 20. As recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, the rearward end of the swivel assembly 80 is adapted to mount to the boom or stick of an excavator (not shown). The swivel assembly 80 allows the shear attachment 10 to swivel or rotate relative to the boom or stick of the excavator, thereby allowing the open jaws 40, 50 to be placed in the desired orientation to shear or cut the material as the upper jaw member 40 closes toward the lower jaw subassembly 50.

[0028] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the main body subassembly 20. The main body subassembly 20 includes a bottom member 22, a blade-side sidewall 24-1, a guide-side sidewall 24-2, a top member 26 and a back member 28. The blade-side sidewall 24-1 includes a main side plate 24-la and a rear reinforcing plate 24-lb in stacked relation. Cylinder bore apertures 21-la, 21- lb are disposed in the respective main side plate 24-la and rear reinforcing plate 24-lb. Outer and inner bosses 23 -la, 23- lb surround the bore apertures 21-la, 21-lb thereby defining the cylinder bore apertures 71-1. Each of the main side plate 24-la and the rear reinforcing plate 24- lb also include aligned respective access openings 25-la, 25-lb with a U-shaped reinforcement 27-1. Similarly, the guide-side sidewall 24-2 includes a main side plate 24-2a and a rear reinforcing plate 24-2b in stacked relation. Cylinder bore apertures 21-2a, 21-2b are disposed in the respective main side plate 24-2a and rear reinforcing plate 24-2b. Outer and inner bosses 23- 2a, 23 -2b surround the bore apertures 21 -2a, 21 -2b thereby defining the cylinder bore apertures 71-2. Each of the main side plate 24-2a and the rear reinforcing plate 24-2b also include aligned respective access openings 25-2a, 25-2b with a U-shaped reinforcement 27-1. Internal plates (not shown) may also be disposed between the blade-side and guide-side sidewalls 24-1, 24-2 for structural rigidity or to support internal components. The top member 26 may include a top opening 29 for access to the internal components of the main body subassembly. The top opening 29 may receive a top hatch cover 30 (FIG. 1) to protect the internal components during use. The back member 28 may include a plurality of radially spaced apertures 81 to receive threaded connectors for mounting the swivel assembly 80 to the back member 28. The back member 28 may also include a central opening 83 for receiving the swivel arm (not shown) of the swivel assembly 80 as would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. Each of the various components described above are fit and welded together to complete the preassembly of the main body subassembly 20 as illustrated in FIG. 5.

[0029] FIG. 5 also illustrates the separately preassembled lower jaw subassembly 50. The preassembly of the lower jaw subassembly 50 involves fitting and welding together the rear spacer 58 between the blade-side jaw beam 52 and guide-side jaw beam 54 and welding the cross beam 56 across the front of the blade-side jaw beam 52 and guide-side jaw beam 54.

[0030] The separately preassembled main body subassembly 20 and the separately preassembled lower jaw subassembly 50 are mated and welded together into what is commonly referred to as a“stick body” 90 as shown in FIG. 6. Once the stick assembly 90 has been formed and all parts welded together, the upper jaw member 40 is mounted onto the stick assembly 90 by inserting the pivot assembly 60 into the aligned pivot bores 49, 61-1, 61-2. Finally, the hydraulic cylinder 70 is inserted through the large opening 29 in the top member 26. The hydraulic cylinder 70 is secured at its rearward end to the main body 20 of the stick assembly 90 by the rear cylinder pin 76 extending through the aligned rear cylinder pin bores 71-1, 71-2 and the aligned aperture in the rear mounting block 75. The cylinder rod 74 is secured to the rearward lobe 46 of the upper jaw member 40 with the forward cylinder pin 78 extending through the aligned apertures of the forward clevis 77 with the rear lobe bore 47. The hydraulic lines are connected to the hydraulic cylinder 70 and the swivel assembly 80 and the hatch covers may be installed over the opening 29 in the top member 26 to complete assembly of the conventional shear attachment 10 as illustrated in FIGs. 1-3.

[0031] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the stick body 90 as viewed along lines 7-7 of FIG. 6. As illustrated in FIGs. 7 and 7A, at the rearward end of the blade-side, the rear reinforcing plate 24- lb is stacked onto the main side plate 24- la and is welded thereto by fdlet weld Wf. Similarly, at the rearward end of the guide-side, the the rear reinforcing plate 24-2b is stacked onto the main side plate 24-2a and is welded thereto by a fillet weld Wf. At the forward end of the blade-side, the main side plate 24-la is welded to the blade-side jaw beam 52 by a full-penetration butt weld Wb. At the forward end of the guide-side, the main side plate 24-2a is welded to the guide-side jaw beam 54 by a full-penetration butt weld Wb.

[0032] Referring to the enlarged view of FIG. 7A corresponding to the rearward circled area in FIG. 7, the main side plate 24-la and the rear reinforcing plate 24- lb each carry respective loads imparting stresses indicated by arrows labeled Sa and Sb, respectively. Where the rear reinforcing plate 24- lb terminates, the stresses Sb carried by the rear reinforcing plate 24- lb will be transferred through the fdlet weld Wf joining the rear reinforcing plate 24-lb to the main side plate 24-la. This merging or convergence of the rear reinforcing plate stresses Sb into the main sidewall plate 24-la results in stress concentrations at the fdlet weld Wf, which can lead to cracking or fracturing of the fdlet weld Wf and / or the plates 24-la, 24-lb at this transition area. The same stress concentrations will occur on the guide-side at the fdlet weld Wf joining the reinforcing plate 24- 2b with the main side plate 24-2a.

[0033] Referring to the enlarged view of FIG. 7B corresponding to the forward circled area in FIG. 7 showing the butt weld of the blade-side jaw beam 52 with the main side plate 24- la it can be seen that the jaw stresses Sj pass through the butt weld Wb and to the main side plate 24- la. The same occurs on the guide-side where the guide-side jaw beam 54 is butt welded to the main side plate 24-2a. It has been found that the butt weld Wb at these transition areas is prone to fracturing due to high stresses Sj, Sa passing through the butt welds Wb between the much thicker jaw beams 52, 54 to the thinner side plates 24-la, 24-2a.

[0034] FIG. 8 is a right rear perspective view of the conventional shear attachment 10 showing a representation of a finite element analysis (FEA) stress model during operation of the convention shear attachment 10. The cross-hatch patterns are intended to represent the stresses in the structure which would typically be indicated by different colors in the FEA model. The density of the crosshatching patterns is therefore intended to represent the amount of stress in a given area. The areas of the sidewalls 24-1, 24-2 that are subject to the highest stress concentrations, indicated by the denser hatch patterns 92 and 94, are the areas most prone to fracturing of the welds and steel plates and correspond to the transition areas described above. Areas of structure with lower stress concentrations are indicated by hatch patterns 96 and 98, with the least dense hatch pattern 98 corresponding to lower amounts of stress. The areas of the structure that do not include any hatch pattern will also be subject to some stress as recognized and understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0035] It should be appreciated that although the subassemblies 20, 50 are designed to mate with one another, it is often difficult to mateably align the lower jaw subassembly 50 with the main body subassembly 20 to construct the stick body 90 because the main body subassembly 20 and the lower jaw subassembly 50 are fabricated from relatively thick steel plate, and due to their size, the subassemblies 20, 50 are very heavy and rigid. As explained in the Background section above, it is not an uncommon for there to be misalignments or interferences between the mating components of the subassemblies due to unavoidable deformations introduced during the welding process and other manufacturing variables. When this occurs, time-consuming and difficult manipulation of the receiving components of the main body subassembly 20 may be necessary in order to fit the lower jaw subassembly 50 onto the main body subassembly 20. This manipulation typically requires welding temporary grab points at different locations on the subassemblies 20,50 and attaching various devices or equipment to the temporary grab points in order to pull and push on the subassemblies 20, 50 at different locations to get them to properly mate. Once the subassemblies 20, 50 are properly mated, the subassemblies 20, 50 are then welded together as described above. In situations in which the misaligned components have been force-fit together and then welded, unwanted internal stresses may be introduced into the welds Wb, Wf and surrounding steel upon releasing the devices or equipment used to push and pull on the subassemblies 20, 50 to get them to fit together, thus potentially adding to stress concentrations in the welds Wb, Wf which could cause the welds Wb, Wf to fracture. Furthermore, after removing the devices or equipment used to push and pull on the temporary grab points, these temporary grab points must then be removed and the temporary welds ground off, resulting in additional manufacturing time and costs.

[0036] FIGs. 9-15 illustrate a material handling attachment 100 incorporating bore linkages 132- 1, 132-2 (described later). FIG. 16 illustrates an alternative material handling attachment 200 incorporating bore linkages 232-1, 232-2 (discussed later). The construction of the material handling attachments 100, 200 incorporating the bore linkages 132-1, 132-2; 232-1, 232-2 are hereinafter referred to as a “bore-linked attachment.” As explained later, the bore-linked material handling attachments 100, 200 eliminate or reduce stress concentrations which may lead to fracturing of welds or plates, reduces material and simplifies fabrication and assembly compared to the conventional shear attachment 10 described above.

[0037] FIG. 9 is a right front perspective view of one embodiment of the bore-linked attachment 100. FIG. 10 is a left front perspective view of the bore-linked attachment 100. Similar to the conventional shear attachment 10, the bore-linked attachment 100 has a forward end 112 and a rearward end 114 and includes a main body 120, a movable upper jaw member 140 and a stationary or fixed lower jaw 150. FIG. 11 is a right side elevation view of the bore-linked attachment 100 and showing the internal hydraulic cylinder 170 and illustrating the pivotal movement of the upper jaw member 140 and hydraulic cylinder 170, in dashed lines. Fig. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the main body 120 and the lower jaw 150, which, when assembled as illustrated in FIG. 13, comprises the stick body 190.

[0038] As best viewed in the partially exploded view of FIG. 13, the stick body 190 receives the upper jaw member 140. The upper jaw member 140 includes a blade-side 142, a guide-side 144, a forward nose 145, a rearward lobe 146 and a lower lobe 148. The rearward lobe 146 includes a rearward lobe bore 147. The lower lobe 148 includes a lower lobe bore 149. As best viewed in FIG. 9, a piercing tip 141 is secured by threaded connectors to the forward nose 145. Upper shear blades 143 are secured by threaded connectors to the blade-side 142 of the upper jaw 140 rearward of the piercing tip 141.

[0039] As best viewed in the exploded perspective view of the stick body 190 of FIG. 12, the lowerjaw 150 is comprised of ablade-sidejaw beam 152, a guide-side jaw beam 154, a front cross beam 156 and a rear spacer 158. The front cross beam 156 laterally separates andjoins the forward ends of the blade-side jaw beam 152 and guide-side jaw beam 154. The rear spacer 518 laterally separates andjoins the rearward ends of the blade-side jaw beam 152 and the guide-side jaw beam 154. The lateral separation of the blade-side jaw beam 152 and guide-side jaw beam 154 provides a slot 159 therebetween. The upper rearward ends of the blade-side jaw beam 152 and the guidesidejawbeam 154 each include a respective pivot bore 161-1, 161-2. When the upper jaw member 140 is mounted to the stick body 190, the lower lobe bore 149 aligns with the forward pivot bores 161-1, 161-2 of the lowerjaw 150. A main pivot assembly 160 (FIGs. 9 and 10) extends through the pivot bores 161-1, 161-2 and the aligned lower lobe bore 149 of the upper jaw member 140, thereby pivotally supporting the upper jaw member 140 between the rearward ends of the bladesidejaw beam 152 and the guide-side jaw beam 154 of the lowerjaw 150.

[0040] As best viewed in FIG. 10, lower shear blades 153 are secured by threaded connectors to the blade-side jaw beam 152 of the lower jaw 150. Guide blades 155 are secured by threaded connectors to each of the blade-side jaw beam 152 and guide-side jaw beam 154. A cross blade 157 extends laterally between the opposing guide blades 155 and is secured by threaded connectors to the front cross beam 156.

[0041] Referring to FIG. 11, the hydraulic cylinder 170 is disposed within the main body subassembly 120 and includes a cylinder barrel 172 and a cylinder rod 174. As is well known in the art, the cylinder rod 174 is configured to extend and retract based on the flow of the hydraulic fluid into and out of the cylinder barrel 172. The lower rearward end of the cylinder barrel 172includes a rear mounting block 175 with a central aperture to receive a rear cylinder pin 176 that extends through rear cylinder pin bores 171-1, 171-2 in the main body 120, thereby pivotally supporting the rearward end of the hydraulic cylinder 170 within the main body 120. The upper end of the cylinder rod 174 includes a forward clevis 177 with a central aperture that receives a forward cylinder pin 178 which extends through the rearward lobe bore 147 in the rearward lobe 146 of the upper jaw member 140, thereby pivotally securing the forward end of the cylinder rod 174 to the rearward lobe 146 of the upper jaw member 140. In operation, as the cylinder rod 174 extends from the cylinder barrel 172, the upper jaw member 140 will pivot downwardly about the pivot assembly 160 toward the lower jaw 150 as indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 11. When the cylinder rod 174 is fully extended, the upper jaw member 140 is fully closed with respect to the lower jaw 150 and is received within the jaw slot 159 (FIGs. 9 and 10). Conversely, when the cylinder rod 174 is retracted within the cylinder barrel 172, the upper jaw member 140 will pivot upwardly about the pivot assembly 160 away from the lower jaw 150. When the cylinder rod 174 is fully retracted, the upper jaw member 140 is fully open with respect to the lower jaw 150 as shown in solid lines in FIG. 11.

[0042] A swivel assembly 180 may be secured to the rearward end 114 of the main body 120. As recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, the rearward end of the swivel assembly 180 is adapted to mount to the boom or stick of an excavator (not shown). The swivel assembly 180 allows the bore-linked attachment 100 to swivel or rotate relative to the boom or stick of the excavator, thereby allowing the open jaws 140, 150 to be placed in the desired orientation to shear, cut or crush the material between the jaws 140, 150 (depending on the type of material handling attachment 100) as the upper jaw member 140 closes toward the lower jaw 150.

[0043] Referring again to the exploded perspective view of FIG. 12, the main body 120 includes a bottom member 122, a blade-side sidewall 124-1, a guide-side sidewall 124-2, a top member 126 and a back member 128. The blade-side sidewall 124-1 comprises a single plate and includes a rearward cylinder bore aperture 121-1 and a forward pivot bore aperture 131-1. Outer and inner bosses 123-la, 123-lb surround the blade-side cylinder bore aperture 121-1 thereby defining the blade-side cylinder bore 171-1. The blade-side sidewall 124-1 also includes an access opening 125-1 with a U-shaped reinforcement 127-1. Similarly, the guide-side sidewall 124-2 comprises a single plate and includes a rearward cylinder bore aperture 121-2 and a forward pivot boreaperture 131 -2. Outer and inner bosses 123-2a, 123-2b surround the guide-side cylinder bore apertures 121-2 thereby defining the guide-side cylinder bore 171-2. The guide-side sidewall also includes an access opening 125-2 with a U-shaped reinforcement 127-2. Internal plates (not shown) may be disposed between the blade-side and guide-side sidewalls 124-1, 124-2 for structural rigidity or to support internal components. The top member 126 may include a top opening 129 for access to the internal components of the main body 120. The top opening 129 may receive a top hatch cover 130 (FIG. 9) to protect the internal components during use. The back member 128 may include a plurality of radially spaced apertures 181 to receive threaded connectors for mounting the swivel assembly 180 to the back member 128. The back member 128 may also include a central opening 183 for receiving the swivel arm (not shown) of the swivel assembly 180 as would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. Each of the various components described above are fit and welded together to complete the assembly of the stick body 190 as illustrated in FIG. 13.

[0044] Referring to FIGs. 12, the portion of the blade-side sidewall 124-1 spanning between and surrounding the blade-side cylinder bore aperture 121-1 and the blade-side pivot bore aperture131-1 defines a blade-side bore linkage 132-1 as indicated by the dashed lines. Similarly, the portion of the guide-side sidewall 124-2 spanning between and surrounding the guide-side cylinder bore aperture 121-2 and the guide-side pivot bore aperture 131-2 defines a guide-side bore linkage132-2.

[0045] Continuing to refer to FIG. 12, the forward end of the blade-side sidewall 124-1 has a forward profile 133-1 that is configured to match with a forward profile 135-1 of the blade-side jaw beam 152 to which it is welded. Similarly, the forward end of the guide-side sidewall 124-2 has a forward profile 133-2 that is configured to match with a forward profile 135-2 of the guideside jaw beam 154 to which it is welded. In addition, unlike the sidewall construction of the conventional shear attachment 10 which utilizes stacked plates welded together to achieve the desired thickness in the areas of highest stress concentrations, the portion of the sidewalls 124-1, 124-2 defining the bore linkages 132-1, 132-2 are fabricated from a single continuous plate. The sidewalls 124-1, 124-2 may include machined regions 134 (FIG. 13) to reduce weight through material reduction without risk of compromising structural integrity, the machined region may extend into the bore linkages 132-1, 132-2 as shown in FIG. 13.

[0046] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the stick body 190 as viewed along lines 14-14 ofFIG. 13 through the bore linkages 132-1, 132-2. As clearly illustrated in FIG. 14, each of the bore linkages 132-1, 132-2 comprise a single continuous plate that extends between and surrounds the respective pivot bore apertures 131-1, 131-2 and the respective cylinder bore apertures 121-1, 121- 2. As best shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 14A, the forward end of the blade-side bore linkage132-1 is stacked against the outer face of the blade-side jaw beam 152 and a forward weld Wf joins the forward periphery 133-1 of the blade-side bore linkage 132-1 with the forward periphery 135-1 of the blade-side jaw beam 152. Although the forward weld may be any suitable weld, e.g., a fillet weld, a groove weld, a plug weld, etc., a fillet weld Wf has advantages for the the reasons explained later. As best show in the enlarged view of FIG. 14B, a rearward weld Wf joins the inside surface of the blade-side bore linkage 132-1 with the rearward periphery 137-1 of the bladeside jaw beam 152. Again, although the rearward weld may be any suitable weld, e g., a fillet weld, a groove weld, a plug weld, etc., a fillet weld Wf has advantages for the the reasons explained later. Thus, as shown in FIG. 14A and 14B, the stresses S are transferred between the blade-side jaw beam 152 and the blade-side bore linkage 132-1 through these forward and rearward welds Wf. It should be appreciated that the same arrangement is found on the guide-side, wherein guideside bore linkage 132-2 is stacked against the outer face of the guide-side jaw beam 154 and a forward weld joins the forward periphery 133-2 of the guide-side bore linkage 132-2 with the forward periphery 135-2 of the guide-side jaw beam 154. A rearward weld joins the inside surface of the guide-side bore linkage 132-2 with the rearward periphery 137-2 of the guide-side jaw beam 154. Thus, the stresses are transferred between the guide-side jaw beam 154 and the guide-side bore linkage 132-2 through the forward and rearward welds. Again, although the forward and rearward welds on the guide-side may be any suitable weld, e.g., a fillet weld, a groove weld, a plug weld, etc., a fillet weld Wf has advantages for the the reasons explained later.

[0047] By using fillet welds Wf to join the bore linkages 132-1, 132-2 to the forward periphery133-1, 133-2 and the rearward periphery 137-1, 137-2 of blade-side and guide-side jaw beams 152, 154, the stresses S are more efficiently transferred between the blade-side and guide-side jaw beams 152, 154 and the respective bore linkages 132-1, 132-3, thus reducing the likelihood of stress fractures occurring compared to the conventional method of fabrication described above for the convention shear attachment 24 in which the sidewalls 24-1, 24-2 are butt-welded to the respective blade-side and guide side jaw beams 52, 54. Not only are the periphery fillet welds ofthe bore-linked construction more efficient at transferring the stresses between the overlapping or stacked plates 132-1 / 152; 132-2 / 154 compared to butt-welding as described above in connection with FIGs. 7 and 7B, thus minimizing stress fractures in the welds, the method of fabrication using fillet welds is less labor intensive and therefore more efficient. For example, to make a proper butt-weld between a thick plate and a thinner plate, both plates must be machined to chamfer the edges to be butt-welded together, thus increasing labor, tooling and expense. Additionally, once one side of the butt-weld is placed, the butt-weld must be back-gouged from the opposite side to ensure full penetration of the weld material before the butt- welded joint can be completed from that opposite side. Thus, not only is butt-welding more labor intensive and time consuming, it requires more skilled welders than is required for fillet welds, further increasing fabrication costs.

[0048] Referring to the enlarged view of FIG. 14C, corresponding to the rearward circled area in FIG. 14, the stresses S carried by the sidewalls 124-1, 124-2 do not have to pass through any welds to transfer stresses between a stacked rearward reinforcing plate and the side plate as in the conventional construction described above for the conventional shear attachment 10 and illustrated in FIG. 7A. Since the bore-linked construction eliminates the need for a reinforcing plate stacked onto the side plate in this area, there is obviously no need for a fillet weld at this location, thereby eliminating another potential weld fracture location. Additionally, with the bore-linked construction, the stresses S in the sidewalls 124-1, 124-2 or bore linkages 132-1, 132-2 remain generally parallel and are not concentrated in any particular area.

[0049] FIG. 15 is a right rear perspective view of the bore-linked attachment 100 showing a representation of a finite element analysis (FEA) stress model during operation. The cross-hatch patterns are intended to represent the stresses in the structure which would typically be indicated by different colors in the FEA model. The density of the cross-hatching patterns is therefore intended to represent the amount of stress in a given area. While there will be areas of higher stress in the areas of the bore linkages 132-1, 132-2 toward the rear cylinder bores 171-1, 171-2 as indicated by the hatch pattern 192 and in the area near the pivot bores 161-1, 161-2 indicated by the hatch pattern 194 and other lower stress concentrations as indicated by hatch pattern 196, the stress concentrations in all of these areas 192, 194, 196 are considerably less than the stress concentrations that are represented in the FEA model of FIG. 8 for the conventional shear attachment 10.

[0050] The bore-linked attachment 100 may be assembled and constructed in the conventional manner described above in connection with the conventional shear attachment 10. In this conventional manner of assembly, the main body 120 is preassembled as one subassembly by fitting and welding together the first and second sidewalls 124-1, 124-2 with the bottom member 122, the top member 126 and the back member 128, and by fitting and welding the inner and outer bosses 123-la, 123-lb, 123-2a, 123-2b in place around the respective blade-side and guide-side cylinder bore apertures 121-1, 121-2. Additionally, the respective U-shape reinforcements 127-1, 127-2 are fit and welded in place around the respective access openings 125-1, 125-2, thereby completing the preassembly of the main body 120. The the lower jaw 150 may also be preassembled as another subassembly by fitting and welding together the rear spacer 158 between the blade-side jaw beam 152 and guide-side jaw beam 154 and welding the cross beam 156 across the front ofthe blade-side jaw beam 152 and guide-side jaw beam 154. The separately preassemble main body assembly 120 and lower jaw assembly 150 may then be mated and welded together with the forward and rearward periphery welds as described above in connection with FIGs. 14, 14A, 14B and 14C, thereby completing the stick body 190 (FIG. 13).

[0051] Alternatively, the stick body 190 may be assembled as one assembly without making separate preassemblies of the main body 120 and the lower jaw 150. In this alternative method of assembly, the blade-side sidewall 124-1 is fit and welded to the blade-side jaw beam 152 with the periphery welds as described above in connection with FIGs. 14 and 14A. Likewise, the guideside sidewall 124-2 is fit and welded to the guide-side jaw beam 154 with the periphery welds as described above in connection with FIGs. 14 and 14A. The bottom member 122 is fit and welded to the bottom end of the blade-side and guide-side sidewalls 124-1, 124-2 and the top member 126 is fit and welded to the top end of the blade-side and guide-side sidewalls 124-1, 124-2. Additionally, the the inner and outer bosses 123-la, 123-lb, 123-2a, 123-2b are fit and welded in place around the respective blade-side and guide-side cylinder bore apertures 121-1, 121-2, and the the respective U-shape reinforcements 127-1, 127-2 are fit and welded in place around the respective access openings 125-1, 125-2, thereby completing the stick body 190.

[0052] Regardless of the method of assembling the stick body 190, once the stick assembly 190 is assembled, and all parts welded together, as illustrated in FIGs. 11 and 13, the upper jaw member 140 is mounted into the stick assembly 190 by inserting the pivot assembly 160 into the alignedbores 149, 161 -1, 161-2. Additionally, the hydraulic cylinder 170 is inserted through the opening 129 in the top member 126. The hydraulic cylinder 170 is secured at its rearward end to the stick body 190 by the rear cylinder pin 176 extending through cylinder pin bores 171-1, 171-2 aligned with the aperture in the rear mounting block 175 of the cylinder 170. The cylinder rod 174 is secured to the rearward lobe 146 of the upper jaw member 140 by the forward cylinder pin 178 extending through the apertures of the forward clevis 177 aligned rear lobe bore 147. The hydraulic lines are connected to the hydraulic cylinder 170 and the swivel assembly 180 and the hatch covers may be installed over the openings 129 in the top member 126 to complete assembly of the bore-linked shear attachment 100.

[0053] FIG. 16 shows a second embodiment of a bore-linked attachment 200 which is substantially the same as the first embodiment of the bore-linked attachment 100 previously described. To avoid repeating the description of the various components comprising the alternative bore-linked attachment 200 while still differentiating between the alternative bore-linked attachment 200 from the previously described bore-linked attachment 100, the various components of the alternative bore-linked attachment 200 are identified with the “200” series prefix instead of a “100” series prefix. Otherwise, the components are the same between the two bore-linked attachment embodiments 100, 200 except as expressly identified below.

[0054] The alternative bore-linked attachment 200 includes a blade-side bore linkage 232-1 and a guide-side bore linkage 232-2; note the guide-side bore linkage 232-2 is not visible in FIG. 16, but the guide-side bore linkage 232-2 is essentially a mirror image of the blade-side bore linkage and would be similar to that shown in FIG. 14. Blade-side side plates 224-la are attached to the bladeside bore linkage 232-1 to enclose the blade-side sidewall 224-1 and to carry the lower stresses in the areas above and below the blade-side bore linkage 232-1. Similarly, the guide-side side plates 224-2a are attached to the guide-side bore linkage 232-2 to enclose the guide-side sidewall 224-2 and to carry the lower stresses in the areas above and below the guide-side bore linkage 232-2; note the guide-side side plates 224-2a are not visible in FIG. 16. In one embodiment, the bladeside bore linkage 232-1 may overlap and be welded to the thinner blade-side side plate 224-la. Likewise, the guide-side bore linkage 232-2 may overlap and be welded to the thinner guide-side side plate 224-2a. Alternatively, the thinner side plates 224-la, 224-2a may comprise separate upper and lower side plates that are welded to the respective bore linkages 232-1, 232-2. Aspreviously described in connection with the embodiment of the bore-linked attachment 100, in this alternative embodiment of the bore linked attachment 200, the blade-side bore linkage 232-1 includes a rearward blade-side cylinder bore aperture 221-1 and a forward blade-side pivot bore aperture 231-1. Likewise, the guide-side bore linkage 232-2 includes a rearward guide-side cylinder bore aperture 221-2 and a forward guide-side pivot bore aperture 231-2. Again the guideside cylinder bore aperture 221-2 and the guide-side pivot bore aperture 231-2 are not visible in FIG. 16. The blade-side pivot bore aperture 231-1 is coaxial with the blade-side pivot bore 261-1 in the blade-side jaw beam 252. Likewise, the guide-side pivot bore aperture 231-2 is coaxial with the guide-side pivot bore 261-2 in the guide-side jaw beam 254. Inner and outer blade-side bosses 223-la, 223-lb may surround the blade-side cylinder bore aperture 221-1 similar to the exploded view of FIG. 12, thereby defining a blade-side cylinder bore 271-1. Likewise, inner and outer guide-side bosses 223-2a, 223-2b (not visible in FIG. 16) may surround the guide-side cylinder bore aperture 221-2 similar to the exploded view of FIG. 12, thereby defining a guide-side cylinder bore 271-2 (not visible in FIG. 16). Thus, the blade-side bore linkage 232-1 spans between and surrounds the blade-side cylinder bore aperture 221-1 and the blade-side pivot bore aperture 231- 1. Likewise, the guide-side bore linkage 232-2 spans between and surrounds the guide-side cylinder bore aperture 221-2 and the guide-side pivot bore aperture 231-2. As previously described above in connection with FIGs. 14, 14A, 14B a forward weld joins the forward periphery 233-1 of the blade-side bore linkage 232-1 with the forward periphery 235-1 of the blade-side jaw beam 252 and a rearward weld joins the inside surface of the blade-side bore linkage 232-1 with the rearward periphery 237-1 of the blade-side jaw beam 252. Likewise, a forward weld joins the forward periphery 233-2 of the guide-side bore linkage 232-2 with the forward periphery 235-2 of the guide-side jaw beam 254 and a rearward weld joins the inside surface of the guide-side bore linkage 232-2 with the rearward periphery 237-2 of the guide-side jaw beam 254. Again, although the forward and rearward welds on the blade-side and guide-side may be any suitable weld, e.g., a fillet weld, a groove weld, a plug weld, etc., a fillet weld Wf as shown in FIGs. 14, 14A and 14B has advantages for the the reasons explained above.

[0055] It should be appreciated that although the bore-linked material handling attachments 100, 200 are illustrated and described herein as a bore-linked shear attachment, principles of the bore- linked construction are equally applicable for other material handling attachments, including but not limited to, pulverizer attachments, concrete cracker attachments, rail breaker attachments,rebar shear attachments and some grapple attachments. Accordingly, any reference to bore-linked material handling attachments throughout this description should be understood as including bore- linked shear attachments, bore-linked pulverizer attachments, bore-linked concrete cracker attachments, bore-linked rail breaker attachments, bore-linked rebar shear attachments, and bore- linked grapple attachments or any other type of material handling attachment which may be configured to incorporate bore linkages as described herein. Furthermore, all the bore-linked attachments 100, 200 as described and illustrated as having a fixed or stationary lower jaw, the bore-linked attachments may have both upper and lower pivoting jaws and different configurations or arrangements of the cylinders for actuating the jaws. Likewise, it should be understood that the particular configuration and components of the upper and lower jaws may vary depending on the type of bore-linked material handling attachment. For example, for a bore-linked pulverizer attachment, the upper and lower jaws would have a different configuration compared to the jaws of a shear, and the upper and lower jaws of the bore-linked pulverizer attachment would not have upper and lower shear blades or piercing tips as described above for the bore-linked shear attachments 100, 200.

[0056] Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Various modifications to the embodiments and to the general principles and features of the material handling attachments described herein will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the disclosure should be accorded the widest scope consistent with the appended claims and the full scope of the equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A bore-linked material handling attachment comprising: a blade-side jaw beam having a blade-side pivot bore; a guide-side jaw beam having a guide-side pivot bore; a bottom member having a blade-side and a guide-side; a top member having a blade-side and a guide-side; a back member having a blade-side and a guide-side; a blade-side bore linkage consisting of a single continuous plate, the blade-side bore linkage having a forward end and a rearward end, the rearward end having a blade-side cylinder bore aperture, the forward end having a blade-side pivot bore aperture, the forward end of the blade-side bore linkage overlapping the blade-side jaw beam with the blade-side pivot bore aperture coaxial with the blade-side pivot bore of the blade-side jaw beam; a guide-side bore linkage consisting of a single continuous plate, the guide-side bore linkage having a forward end and a rearward end, the rearward end having a guide-side cylinder bore aperture, the forward end having a guide-side pivot bore aperture, the forward end of the guide-side bore linkage overlapping the guide-side jaw beam with the guide-side pivot bore aperture coaxial with the guide-side pivot bore of the guide-side jaw beam; wherein a forward periphery of the blade-side bore linkage is welded to a forward periphery of the blade-side jaw beam; wherein a rearward periphery of the blade-side jaw beam is welded to the blade-side bore linkage; wherein a forward periphery of guide-side bore linkage is welded to a forward periphery of the guide-side jaw beam; and wherein a rearward periphery of the guide-side jaw beam is welded to the guide-side bore linkage.

2. The bore-linked material handling attachment of claim 1, wherein the blade-side bore linkage is a part of a blade-side sidewall having a bottom end, a top end and a rearward end, the bottom end of the blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side of the bottom member, the top end of the blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side of the top member, the rearward end of the blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side of the back member; andwherein the guide-side bore linkage is a part of a guide-side sidewall having a bottom end, a top end and a rearward end, the bottom end of the guide-side sidewall welded to the guide-side of the bottom member, the top end of the guide-side sidewall welded to the guide-side of the top member, the rearward end of the guide-side sidewall welded to the guide-side of the back member.

3. The bore-linked material handling attachment of claim 1, further comprising: a blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side bore linkage, the blade-side sidewall having a bottom end, a top end and a rearward end, the bottom end of the blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side of the bottom member, the top end of the blade-side sidewall welded to the bladeside of the top member, the rearward end of the blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side of the back member; and a guide-side sidewall welded to the guide-side bore linkage, the guide-side sidewall having a bottom end, a top end and a rearward end, the bottom end of the guide-side sidewall welded to the guide-side of the bottom member, the top end of the guide-side sidewall welded to the guideside of the top member, the rearward end of the guide-side sidewall welded to the guide-side of the back member.

4. The bore-linked material handling attachment of claim 1, further comprising: an upper blade-side sidewall having a bottom end, a top end and a rearward end, the bottom end of the upper blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side bore linkage, the top end of the upper blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side of the top member, the rearward end of the blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side of the back member; a lower blade-side sidewall having a bottom end, a top end and a rearward end, the bottom end of the lower blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side of the bottom member, the top end of the lower blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side bore linkage, the rearward end of the blade-side sidewall welded to the blade-side of the back member; an upper guide-side sidewall having a bottom end, a top end and a rearward end, the bottom end of the upper guide-side sidewall welded to the guide-side bore linkage, the top end of the upper guide-side sidewall welded to the guide-side of the top member, the rearward end of the guideside sidewall welded to the guide-side of the back member; and a lower guide-side sidewall having a bottom end, a top end and a rearward end, the bottom end of the lower guide-side sidewall welded to the guide-side of the bottom member, the top endof the lower guide-side sidewall welded to the guide-side bore linkage, the rearward end of the guide-side sidewall welded to the guide-side of the back member.

5. The bore-linked material handling attachment of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the forward periphery of the blade-side bore linkage is welded to the forward periphery of the blade-side jaw beam by a fillet weld; and wherein the forward periphery of guide-side bore linkage is welded to the forward periphery of the guide-side jaw beam by a fillet weld.

6. The bore-linked material handling attachment of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the rearward periphery of the blade-side jaw beam is welded to the blade-side bore linkage by a fillet weld; and wherein the rearward periphery of the guide-side jaw beam is welded to the guide-side bore linkage by a fillet weld.

7. The bore-linked material handling attachment of claim 5, wherein the rearward periphery of the blade-side jaw beam is welded to the blade-side bore linkage by a fillet weld; and wherein the rearward periphery of the guide-side jaw beam is welded to the guide-side bore linkage by a fillet weld.

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