Wear Block Assembly With Interlocking Tooth And Wedge Recess
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional three-point hitch designs for off-road and agricultural vehicles experience undesired lateral movement due to relative displacement between wedge blocks and draft arms, requiring additional components like shims for adjustment, increasing cost and time.
Innovation Solution
A wear block assembly with a positive locking feature, such as a tooth on the wear block, interlocks with a negative locking feature, like a wedge recess on the wedge block, allowing incremental adjustment of the wear block's lateral position without additional components, enabling quick adjustment of lateral movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional three-point hitch designs are used, then the structure is simple, but lateral movement occurs due to relative displacement between wedge blocks and draft arms
Solution Approach 1:
The wear block assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: a wedge block with multiple wedge recesses at different lateral positions, a wear block with corresponding teeth, and adjustable positioning mechanisms. This segmentation allows independent adjustment of each component to precisely control lateral movement while maintaining overall structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The wear block assembly incorporates adjustable and reconfigurable elements, allowing the lateral position of the wear block relative to the draft arm to be dynamically modified. The tooth can be positioned in different wedge recesses to adjust lateral clearance, and components can be removed or repositioned as needed, providing adaptability without permanent complexity.
2Reliability
If shims are added for adjustment, then lateral movement can be controlled, but cost and adjustment time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The design extracts and eliminates the need for separate shim components by integrating the adjustment function directly into the wear block assembly. The tooth-on-wear-block engaging with wedge-recess-on-wedge-block mechanism provides built-in lateral positioning, removing the need for additional shim parts and their associated installation time.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple wedge recesses are pre-positioned at different lateral locations on the wedge block during manufacturing. This preliminary arrangement of adjustment positions allows operators to quickly select and engage the appropriate position without performing complex calculations or measurements during field adjustment, significantly reducing adjustment time.
3Reliability
If shims are added for adjustment, then lateral movement can be controlled, but component quantity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the functions of multiple separate components (draft arm, wedge block, wear block with adjustment features) into a single integrated wear block assembly. The wedge recesses and teeth are built into the assembly itself, combining what would traditionally require separate shim components into one unified structure, reducing total part count while maintaining adjustment capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The wear block assembly serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides wear protection, enables lateral adjustment through the tooth-wedge recess mechanism, and maintains structural support. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated shim components that would otherwise be required solely for lateral positioning, reducing overall component quantity.
Data Source
AI summary
A wear block assembly includes a wedge block having a top surface and a bottom surface, and a wear block having a tooth that protrudes from a contact surface. The top surface of the wedge block includes a wedge recess that extends laterally along the top surface. The tooth is configured to be received within the recess and engage a securing face of the recess to interlock the wedge block and the wear block.