Dozing Blade Cutter with Segmented Digging Faces

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing dozing blade cutter designs lack versatility in orientation, which limits their ability to balance forward pushability and downward penetration, making them less effective in various digging and material handling applications.

Innovation Solution

A cutter design featuring a middle body piece with a steeper digging face and mirror-image outer body pieces with shallower digging faces, each with linear and curvilinear leading edge profiles, allowing for balanced penetration and pushability by varying the angle and length of the digging faces.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a cutter with uniform digging face orientation is used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the ability to balance forward pushability and downward penetration is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to balance forward pushability and downward penetrationVSAvoidcutter structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The cutter body is divided into multiple segments (middle body piece and outer body pieces) with different digging face orientations. The middle body piece has a steeper digging face for downward penetration, while the outer body pieces have shallower digging faces for forward pushability. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function optimally.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different portions of the cutter body are given different geometric properties - the middle section has a steeper angle for penetration while the outer sections have shallower angles for pushing. This local differentiation of geometric quality enables the cutter to simultaneously achieve both penetration and pushability functions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Adaptability or versatility

If a cutter with single digging face angle is used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the effectiveness in various digging and material handling applications is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveeffectiveness in various digging applicationsVSAvoidcutter manufacturing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The cutter is segmented into multiple body pieces that can be manufactured separately using standard processes, then assembled together. This allows each segment to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through modular construction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The multi-angle cutter design provides universal applicability across different digging and material handling tasks. By incorporating multiple digging face angles in one cutter, it can handle various substrate conditions and application requirements, replacing the need for multiple specialized cutters.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Force

If the digging face angle is increased for better penetration, then downward penetration improves, but forward pushability deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedownward penetration forceVSAvoidforward pushability

Core Design Contradiction:

ForceVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The middle body piece features a steeper digging face angle optimized for generating downward penetration force, while the outer body pieces have shallower angles optimized for forward pushing. This local differentiation of angular quality allows simultaneous optimization of both penetration and pushability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The cutter body is segmented into distinct functional zones - a central penetration zone with steeper angles and outer pushing zones with shallower angles. This segmentation distributes the functional requirements across different parts, allowing each to excel at its specific task.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

4Ease of operation

If the digging face angle is decreased for better pushability, then forward pushability improves, but downward penetration deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveforward pushabilityVSAvoiddownward penetration force

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSForce

Solution Approach 1:

The outer body pieces are designed with shallower digging face angles that optimize forward pushability by reducing resistance during horizontal movement, while the middle body piece maintains steeper angles for effective downward penetration when needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The cutter is divided into functional segments where outer segments handle pushing operations with shallower angles and the middle segment handles penetration operations with steeper angles, allowing both functions to operate at optimal efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3559356B1Cutter for dozing blade assembly and body section for same

Publication Date: 2023.11.08 CATERPILLAR INC

Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6

AI summary

A dozing blade assembly (16) includes a dozing blade (18) and a multi-piece cutter (34) mounted to the dozing blade (18) and including an elongate body (36) having a first outer body piece (42) and a second outer body piece (44) that are mirror images of one another, and each including an inboard stem (50) having a linear leading edge profile, and an integral outboard end bit (52) having a curvilinear leading edge profile. The outer body pieces (42, 44) are structured for mounting to the dozing blade (18) such that digging faces (56, 58) of the outer body pieces (42, 44) are oriented at a shallower angle than digging faces of the middle body piece (40), relative to a horizontal plane.