Wear Member Locking Pin Assembly for Easy Bucket Tooth Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Material displacement apparatuses, such as excavating buckets, experience wear due to abrasive contact with displaced materials, leading to premature wear of assemblies and increased maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A wear member assembly comprising a weld base, a wear member, and a locking pin assembly, where the wear member is removably attached to the weld base using the locking pin, allowing for easy replacement when worn, and designed to distribute load across multiple contact surfaces for enhanced stability and support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the wear member is permanently welded to the bucket, then the structural strength is improved, but the replacement complexity and maintenance time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The wear member assembly is divided into separable components: the wear member, locking pins, and base. This segmentation allows the wear member to be replaced independently without replacing the entire assembly or performing complex welding operations, thus reducing replacement complexity while maintaining structural integrity through the locking mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
Locking pins serve as intermediary elements between the wear member and the base. These pins provide a reversible connection that maintains structural strength during operation but allows for easy removal and replacement when wear occurs, bridging the gap between permanent attachment and easy replaceability.
2Reliability
If the wear member assembly uses multiple locking pins, then the reliability of attachment is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is segmented into multiple identical locking pins distributed at different locations on the wear member. This segmentation provides redundant attachment points that enhance reliability without requiring a complex integrated locking system, as each pin operates independently but performs the same function.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple locking pins perform the same universal function of securing the wear member to the base. This multi-functional approach enhances reliability through redundancy while keeping the overall device complexity manageable, as each pin is a simple, standardized component rather than a complex integrated system.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the wear member is designed with multiple contact surfaces, then the stability and load distribution are improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The contact interface is segmented into multiple discrete contact surfaces distributed across the wear member and base. This segmentation distributes the load across multiple points rather than requiring a single large precision interface, reducing the manufacturing precision requirements for each individual contact surface while maintaining overall assembly stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact surfaces are designed with local quality variations, where critical load-bearing areas have enhanced surface features such as ribs or protrusions that concentrate contact forces. This allows for improved stability at specific locations without requiring high precision across the entire contact interface, reducing overall manufacturing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments of the present disclosure may include a locking pin assembly that includes a pin and a lock. The pin may include a shaft and a first flange projecting outward from the shaft and comprising a first cavity. The lock may be disposed within the first cavity of the first flange, and the lock may include a locking tab and a compressible foot. The compressible foot may be disposed within the first cavity such that the locking tab extends outward from the first flange.