Pivoting Cleaning Wall for Digging Machine Bucket
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing self-cleaning bucket assemblies for digging machines are ineffective in fully emptying sticky or non-flowing materials, leading to reduced productivity due to residual material left in the bucket.
Innovation Solution
A bucket assembly with a pivotal cleaning wall and hydraulic operating system that moves the cleaning wall from a retracted to a forward position to push material out of the bucket, combined with a cleaning linkage that extends through the rear wall to engage and push the cleaning wall, ensuring complete discharge during the rearward movement of the bucket.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional bucket design is used, then the structure is simple, but sticky or non-flowing materials remain in the bucket after discharge, reducing productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning wall is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to pivot between a retracted position (during digging) and a forward position (during discharge). This dynamic movement enables the cleaning wall to actively push material from the bucket without requiring a completely different bucket structure, resolving the contradiction between improved emptying and structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning wall acts as an intermediary element between the hydraulic cylinder and the material in the bucket. It translates the linear motion of the hydraulic cylinder into a sweeping motion that effectively pushes material out, providing a mechanical mediation that achieves complete emptying without directly complexifying the entire bucket structure.
2Productivity
If the bucket is designed to be deeper and narrower, then productivity increases, but material hang-ups occur more frequently
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning wall system enables the bucket to self-clean during its normal discharge cycle. As the bucket moves rearward and the cleaning wall pivots forward, it automatically pushes any hanging or stuck material from the bucket interior, allowing deeper and narrower bucket designs to reliably discharge material without external intervention or manual cleaning.
3Ease of operation
If a cleaning mechanism is added to the bucket, then material discharge is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning wall serves multiple functions: it acts as a structural reinforcement for the bucket interior, a material pushing surface during discharge, and a self-cleaning element. This multi-functionality means that while a cleaning mechanism is added, the overall complexity increase is mitigated because the cleaning wall integrates with existing bucket structures rather than requiring entirely separate components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables complete emptying of the bucket, increasing productivity by ensuring that the bucket is fully cleared of material, even when dealing with sticky or non-flowing substances, and allows for deeper and narrower bucket designs without material hang-ups.
Implementation Method 1
a hydraulic operating cylinder mounted thereon for operating pivotal movement of the bucket with an operating linkage extending from the cylinder to the bucket
Implementation Method 2
the pivotal cleaning wall is biased by a spring toward the retracted position at the rear wall
Data Source
AI summary
A bucket assembly for mounting on a boom of a digging machine comprises a bucket with an outer wall and a rear wall pivotally mounted between side walls of the bucket so that the rear wall is movable relative to the outer wall for discharging material from the bucket. In one arrangement this relative movement is provided by a linkage assembly which displaces the rear wall forwardly as the remainder of the bucket continues to move rearwardly to a retracted position of the bucket. In another arrangement the relative movement is provided by at least one stopper fixed in relation to the boom arranged for engaging the pivotal rear wall in an angularly intermediate position of the bucket such that the rear wall moves forwardly relative to the outer wall as the bucket moves rearwardly to its retracted position.