Dredging Tooth Adaptor Coupling Inverse Force Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dredging machine tooth and adaptor systems fail to effectively stabilize against inverse forces during dredging operations, leading to instability, pin deformation or breakage, and increased wear, particularly when working with hard soils and in challenging water conditions.
Innovation Solution
A tooth and adaptor system with a symmetric rear coupling part and a front wear part, featuring parallel surfaces and a stopper design, that uses a hammerless vertical locking system to ensure balanced distribution of forces, reducing stress on the pin and preventing breakage by absorbing inverse forces through optimized contact surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a traditional tooth and adaptor system is used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the system becomes unstable under inverse forces during dredging operations
Solution Approach 1:
The tooth is designed with an asymmetric geometry where the rear coupling part features a nose section that fits into a corresponding cavity in the adaptor. The asymmetric shape creates stable contact surfaces that resist inverse forces during dredging operations, preventing tooth dislodgement while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling system incorporates a three-dimensional nose-cavity interface that adds geometric constraints in multiple dimensions. The nose section extends into the cavity with contact surfaces oriented to resist forces from various directions, particularly inverse forces that attempt to pull the tooth outward from the adaptor.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the tooth is designed to resist all forces including inverse forces, then the stability improves, but the pin becomes subject to deformation and breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The pin is extracted from its traditional load-bearing function and repositioned solely as a retaining element. The nose-cavity contact surfaces assume the primary load-bearing role, absorbing inverse forces and stabilizing the tooth-adaptor coupling, while the pin merely prevents rotational movement and secures the assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The functional roles are inverted: instead of the pin providing structural support and the contact surfaces providing stability, the contact surfaces provide structural support by resisting inverse forces, while the pin provides only retention. This inversion protects the pin from deformation and breakage.
3Loss of substance
If the contact surfaces are optimized to absorb inverse forces, then the wear is reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The nose and cavity are designed with specific local geometric features including contact surfaces at defined angles and positions. These localized geometric qualities ensure proper force distribution and minimize wear at critical contact points while maintaining manufacturability through standardized formatting.
Data Source
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AI summary
The tooth and adaptor for dredging machines object of the present invention relates to a tooth which, attached to an adaptor, creates an assembly the purpose of which is to deepen and clean the beds of ports, rivers, channels, etc., removing therefrom sludge, stones, sand, etc., the adaptors being attached to the blades thus forming the cutter head of the dredging machine. The constructive features of the coupling between the tooth and the adaptor allow a great stability between both elements, among other advantages.