| Claims 1. A wear part system including:- - an adaptor configured and dimensioned to be attached to a portion of a piece of equipment which experiences high wear in use, the adaptor including a passage extending between two opposed sides thereof; and - a wear part configured and dimensioned to be fitted over the adaptor, the wear part including a passage extending between two opposed sides thereof and which passage is aligned in register with the passage of the adaptor when the wear part is fitted over the adaptor; wherein, in use, the adaptor and wear part are connected to each other by insertion of a connector through their respective passages. 2. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, in use, the adaptor is attached to a portion of a piece of equipment selected from the group including: a lip and/ or sidewall of an excavator; a lip and/ or sidewall of a front end loader; a lip and/ or sidewall of load haul dumper bucket; and a lip of an excavator bucket (i.e. between adjacent teeth). 3. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein in use, the adaptor is attached to the portion of a piece of equipment by means of welds. 4. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wear part includes a receiving formation that is complementary in shape and dimensions to a substantial portion of the adaptor so that the wear part can be slideably fitted over the adaptor to achieve a snug fit. 5. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the adaptor is provided with a plurality of wear plates, each of which is located in a recessed portion defined in an exterior surface of the adaptor. 6. A system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the wear plate rests on a support sheet manufactured from resiliently deformable material such as rubber and the wear plate is manufactured from a metal alloy that is harder than the material from which the adaptor is manufactured. 7. A system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the thickness of the support sheet and wear plate are selected so that the wear plate stands proud of the exterior surface of the adaptor when not in use. 8. A system as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the wear part tapers from a first end region towards a second end region which in use forms a leading edge of an excavator or front end loader bucket. 9. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the wear part is in the shape of a tooth of an excavator or a portion of a heel of an excavator bucket. 10. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the connector is a two-part connector, a first part of which is located in a recess of the adaptor arranged so that a portion of said first part extends into the passage of the adaptor. 11. A system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first part is manufactured from a resiliently deformable material. 12. A system as claimed in claim 10 or 11 , wherein the portion of the first part that in use extends into the passage of the adaptor is provided with engaging formations in the form of spaced apart ribs or teeth which are manufactured from a metal alloy. 13. A system as claimed in claim 12, wherein engaging formations are in the form of spaced apart rollers that are countersunk into a body portion of the first part during casting of the part and which in use extend into the passage of the adaptor. 14. A system as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the first part of the connector is formed integrally with the adaptor. 15. A system as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein a second part of the connector includes an elongate body portion with engaging formations in the form of spaced apart ribs or teeth located along a central region thereof. 16. A system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the second part is manufactured from a steel alloy. 17. A system as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 16, wherein in use, after the wear part has been fitted over the adaptor and their respective passages have been brought into alignment, the second part of the connector is forced into the aligned passages of the adaptor and wear part so that its engaging formations engage those of the first part of the connector, thereby connecting the wear part and adaptor. 18. A wear part system including:- - an adaptor including a base plate and one or more raised portions extending from the base plate at which the adaptor attachable to a portion of a piece of equipment which experiences high wear in use; and - a wear part including a first recess of complementary shape and dimensions to the base plate for slideably receiving the base plate therein and a second recess for receiving one of said raised portions therein to form a snug fit between the wear part and the adaptor. 19. A system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the adaptor is in use attached to a heel region of an excavator or load haul dumper bucket. 20. A wear part system according to the invention substantially as hereinbefore described or exemplified. 21. A wear part system as specifically described with reference to or as illustrated in any one of the accompanying drawings. 22. A wear part system including any new and inventive integer or combination of integers substantially as herein described. |
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wear part system for earth moving machinery and, more particularly, to a wear part system for portions of machinery that experience a high degree of wear during use thereof.
Background to the Invention
Heavy machinery such as excavators and front end loaders are used in the mining and building industries for displacing heavy loads of material such as sand, gravel, and rock. Most of these materials are abrasive and the wear experienced by the portions of the machinery directly exposed thereto is significant. Heels and leading and side edges of buckets of front end loaders and teeth of excavators in particular become damaged during use and require replacement.
In the past, replaceable wear parts have been attached to areas that experience high wear. The attachment was typically achieved by welding or using mechanical fasteners such as bolts. The welding of the wear part requires skilled labour and the weld can only be broken with force when the wear part needs to be replaced thereby making this a cumbersome way of attaching and removing the wear part.
Although mechanical fasteners such as bolts do not require skilled labour for adding or removing wear parts to machinery, the bolts are exposed to high stresses during use of the machinery and are prone to fracture and becoming loose.
The inventor therefore believes that a need exists for providing a wear part system for portions of equipment exposed to a high degree of wear during use which system overcomes at least some of the disadvantages of existing wear part systems.
Summary of the Invention According to the invention there is provided a wear part system including:-
- an adaptor configured and dimensioned to be attached to a portion of a piece of equipment which experiences high wear in use, the adaptor including a passage extending between two opposed sides thereof; and l - a wear part configured and dimensioned to be fitted over the adaptor, the wear part including a passage extending between two opposed sides thereof and which passage is aligned in register with the passage of the adaptor when the wear part is fitted over the adaptor; wherein, in use, the adaptor and wear part are connected to each other by insertion of a connector through their respective passages.
In use, the adaptor may be attached to a portion of a piece of equipment selected from the group including: a lip and/ or sidewall of an excavator; a lip and/ or sidewall of a front end loader; a lip and/ or sidewall of load haul dumper bucket; and a lip of an excavator bucket (i.e. between adjacent teeth).
In use, the adaptor may be attached to the lip/sidewall by means of welding or by using one or more mechanical fasteners such as bolts.
The wear part may include a receiving formation that is complementary in shape and dimensions to a substantial portion of the adaptor so that the wear part can be slideably fitted over the adaptor to achieve a snug fit.
As wear parts are removed from the adaptor to be replaced by new wear parts, this may cause damage to an exterior surface of the adaptor. In addition, it is for cost reasons desirable to use cast rather machined wear parts and tolerances in the wear parts must therefore be accommodated. The casting process used to manufacture the various parts of the wear part system may be lost-wax casting.
For this reason, the adaptor may be provided with a plurality of wear plates. Each wear plate may be located in a recessed portion defined in an exterior surface of the adaptor. The wear plate may rest on a support sheet manufactured from resiliently deformable material such as rubber. The wear plate may be manufactured from a metal alloy that is harder than the material from which the adaptor is manufactured.
The thickness of the support sheet and wear plate may be selected so that the wear plate may stand proud of the exterior surface of the adaptor when not in use; i.e. when no wear part is attached to the adaptor. When the wear part is fitted over the adaptor, the wear plate may be pushed against the support sheet which in turn becomes compressed so that the wear plate comes to rest flush with the exterior surface of the adaptor. The wear plates may aid in reducing wear of the exterior surface of the adaptor occasioned by removal and replacement of wear parts and may make allowance for tolerances in the dimensions of the wear part, i.e. the dimensions of the receiving portion of the wear part do not need to conform precisely to the dimensions of the adaptor.
In an alternative embodiment, the adaptor may include a base plate and one or more raised portions extending from the base plate at which the adaptor may in use be attached to a heel region of an excavator, front loader, or load haul dumper bucket by, for example, welding. The wear part may include a first recess of complementary shape and dimensions to the base plate for slideably receiving the base plate therein. The wear part may further include a second recess for receiving one of said raised portions therein to form a snug fit between the wear part and the adaptor.
The exterior shape of the wear part may vary depending on the portion of the piece of equipment to which it is to be applied. The wear part may taper from a first end region towards a second end region which in use forms a leading edge of an excavator or front end loader bucket. Alternatively, the wear part may be in the shape of a tooth of an excavator or a portion of a heel of an excavator bucket.
The connector may be a two-part connector wherein a first part may be located in a recess of the adaptor arranged so that a portion of said first part extends into the passage of the adaptor. The first part may be manufactured from a resiliently deformable material such as rubber.
The portion of the first part that in use extends into the passage of the adaptor may be provided with engaging formations in the form of spaced apart ribs or teeth. The ribs or teeth may be manufactured from a metal alloy such as, for example steel. The engaging formations may be in the form of spaced apart rollers that are countersunk into a body portion of the first part during casting of the part and which in use extend into the passage of the adaptor.
The first part of the connector may be formed integrally with the adaptor. A second part of the connector may include an elongate body portion with engaging formations in the form of spaced apart ribs or teeth located along a central region thereof. The second part may be manufactured from a steel alloy.
In use, after the wear part has been fitted over the adaptor and their respective passages have been brought into alignment, the second part of the connector is forced into the aligned passages of the adaptor and wear part so that its engaging formations engage those of the first part of the connector, thereby connecting the wear part and adaptor.
The ribs or teeth of the first part of the connector present contact points for the second part of the connector which accordingly does not come into contact with the body portion of the first part. The resiliently deformable body portion of the first part in use pushes the ribs or teeth against the second part of the connector, thereby retaining the first and second parts in tight engagement.
It is to be appreciated that the dimensions of the passages and the first and second parts of the connector are such that a tight fit is achieved when the second part of the connector is forced into the aligned passages.
When it is desired to remove and replace the wear part, the second part of the connector is forced out of the aligned passages using suitable tools such as, for example, a hammer, after which the wear part can be removed from the adaptor. The adaptor may require replacement after having accommodated four or more wear parts that have successively been replaced. The adaptor may be released from the piece of equipment by breaking the weld.
Detailed Description of the Invention
The invention will now be described by way of the following non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:
Figure 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a first embodiment of an adaptor in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 shows a three-dimensional view of an embodiment of a wear part in accordance with the present invention when connected to an adaptor as shown in Figure 1 ;
Figure 3 shows a front view of the wear part of Figure 2; Figure 4A shows a sectioned side view along lines A-A in Figure 2 of the wear part when connected to the adaptor;
Figure 4B shows a sectioned top view along lines B-B in Figure 2 of the wear part when connected to the adaptor;
Figure 5 shows a three-dimensional view of a second embodiment of an adaptor in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 6 shows a three-dimensional view of a second embodiment of a wear part in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 7 shows a sectioned side view of a second embodiment of an assembled wear part system in accordance with the present invention showing the adaptor of Figure 5 and the wear part of Figure 6;
Figure 8 shows a first part of a connector of the wear part system; and
Figure 9 shows a second part of a connector of the wear part system.
In the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally indicates an embodiment of a wear part system in accordance with the present invention. A wear part system 10 includes an adaptor 12 configured and dimensioned to be attached to a portion of a piece of equipment (not shown) which experiences high wear in use, the adaptor 12 including a passage 16 extending between two opposed sides thereof.
A wear part 18 of the system 10 is configured and dimensioned to be fitted over the adaptor 12. The wear part 18 includes a passage 20 extending between two opposed sides thereof and which passage 20 is aligned in register with the passage 16 of the adaptor 12 when the wear part 18 is fitted over the adaptor 12 as can best be seen in Figures 4B and 7. The wear part system 10 further includes a connector having two parts shown in Figures 4A, 4B, 8 and 9 for connecting the adaptor 12 and wear part 18 by insertion thereof through the passages 16 and 20 of the adaptor 12 and wear part 18.
The adaptor 12 and wear part 18 are connected to each other by insertion of the connector through their respective passages 16 and 20.
In use, the adaptor 12 is attached to a portion of a piece of equipment selected from the group including: a lip and/ or sidewall of an excavator; a lip and/ or sidewall of a front end loader; a lip and/ or sidewall of load haul dumper bucket; and a lip of an excavator bucket (i.e. between adjacent teeth). Attachment of the adaptor 12 to the portion of the piece of equipment is typically by means of welds.
The wear part 18 includes a receiving formation 22 that is complementary in shape and dimensions to a substantial portion of the adaptor 12 so that the wear part 18 can be slideably fitted over the adaptor 12 to achieve a snug fit as can best be seen in Figure 4B. The wear part 18 further includes a receiving formation 24 for receiving a portion of the piece of equipment therein.
Referring now to Figures 5 to 7, there is shown an alternative embodiment of the adaptor 12 wherein the adaptor 12 includes a base plate 34 and two raised portions 36.1 and 36.2 extending from the base plate 34 at which the adaptor 12 is in use welded to a heel region of an excavator bucket.
The wear part 18 includes a first recess 38 of complementary shape and dimensions to the base plate 34 for slideably receiving the base plate 34 therein. The wear part 18 further includes a second recess 40 for receiving raised portion 36.2 therein, thereby forming a snug fit between the wear part 18 of Figure 6 and the adaptor 12 of Figure 5.
The exterior shape of the wear part 18 can be varied as desired depending on the portion of the piece of equipment to which it is to be applied. The wear part 18 in Figures 2 to 4 tapers from a first end region towards a second end region which in use forms a leading edge of an excavator or front end loader bucket. The wear part 18 of Figure 6 is typically used as a wear part for a heel of an excavator bucket. The connector (shown on its own in Figures 8 and 9) is a two-part connector wherein a first part 44 is located in a recess 46 of the adaptor 12 so that a portion of said first part extends into the passage 16 of the adaptor 12. The first part 44 is manufactured from a resiliently deformable material such as rubber. The portion of the first part 44 that in use extends into the passage of the adaptor is provided with engaging formations in the form of spaced apart ribs 48. The ribs 48 are manufactured from steel. The ribs 48 are rollers that are countersunk into a body portion 50 of the first part 44 during casting of the first part 44 and which in use extend into the passage 16 of the adaptor 12 as shown in Figure 4B. It is to be appreciated, that the ribs 48 need not necessarily be in the form of rollers and could be another suitable shape.
A second part 52 of the connector includes an elongate body portion 54 with engaging formations in the form of spaced apart ribs 56 located along a central region thereof. The second part 52 is manufactured from a steel alloy. In use, after the wear part 18 has been fitted over the adaptor 12 and their respective passages 16 and 20 have been brought into alignment, the second part 52 of the connector is forced into the aligned passages 16 and 20 of the adaptor 12 and wear part 18 in the direction indicated by arrow "F" in Figures 4B and 6 so that its engaging formations 56 engage those of the first part 44 of the connector (see Figure 4B), thereby connecting the wear part 18 and adaptor 12.
It is to be appreciated that the dimensions of the passages 16 and 20 and the first and second parts 44 and 52 of the connector are such that a tight fit is achieved when the second part 52 of the connector is forced into the aligned passages 16 and 20. When it is desired to remove and replace the wear part 18, the second part 52 of the connector is forced out of the aligned passages 16 and 20 using suitable tools after which the wear part 18 can be removed from the adaptor 12.
It is to be appreciated that the invention is not limited to any particular embodiment or configuration as hereinbefore generally described or illustrated.