Caterpillar Tractor Co.

Caterpillar Inc.

Gene R Klett

William J Renski

Billy R Bedford

Warner G Richardson

Thomas P Casey

William E Lanz

Jerome A Thies

Alan H Lonn

James A Olthoff

Martin V Kiesewetter

Michael T Radigan

Howard A Hansen

Russel D Merkel

Tip and adapter assemblies are normally utilized to provide an arrangement in which the tip can be readily removed from the adapter. It is normally advantageous to have a simple construction that allows the tip to be mounted on the adapter with the least amount of effort and likewise to have the ability to remove the tip from the adapter in like manner. In the subject arrangement, the tooth defines a socket which is adapted for mating contact with a nose portion of an adapter. The socket has a generally circular load transferring surface located adjacent an opening thereof. A plurality of clearance slots are provided angularly spaced around the circumference of the generally circular load transferring surface. A generally rectangular load transferring pocket is located in the socket adjacent a bottom surface thereof and has clearance reliefs defined thereon. A relief cavity is located in the socket between the generally circular bond transferring surface and the generally rectangular load transferring pocket. The relief cavity in conjunction with the clearance slots and the clearance reliefs enable the tooth to be mounted on the adapter that has four raised helical threads disposed thereon without having to rotate the tooth during assembly or disassembly thereof.

Tooth with clearances in socket

Ground engaging bits having hardned tips are beneficial when working extremely hard ground and/or planing asphalt or concreate. In these applications, the ground engaging bits rotate in their holders while performing the cutting action. Since the material needed to make a hardened tip is normally very expensive, it is beneficial to best utilize all, or at least most of, the hardened tip and to provide a hardened top that remains sharp during its effective life. The present ground engaging bit has a body with a convex non-linear forward end surface and a hardened tip with a corresponding concave non-linear rearward end surface to mate with the forward end surface of the body. The hardened tip has a continuous concave surface of revolution defined on its intermediate portion with a radius thereof being less than the diameter of its rearward flange portion. This arrangement uses less material to form the hardened tip and also provides a bonded surface that during the brazing operation allows the brazing material to freely flow evenly over the interface between the two surfaces. This arrangement provides an effective ground engaging bit that remains sharp during the life of the ground engaging bit while using less material to make the hardened tip.

Ground engaging bit having a hardened tip

A corner tooth assembly is provided on the corner of an implement for protection thereof from wear during use. It is necessary to provide a tight fit between the corner tooth and the corner portion of the implement so that unnecessary movement of the corner tooth on the corner portion is avoided while at the same time not subjecting the corner tooth to undue stresses during initial installation of the corner tooth on the implement. The present corner tooth assembly includes a corner portion integrally connected to the implement with first and second load transferring pads defined on a leading edge thereof and first and second holes defined therein and a corner tooth adapted for releasable connection to the corner portion. A trailing end portion of the corner tooth has a load transferring portion including first and second load transferring surfaces adapted when installed to mate with the first and second load transferring pads of the corner portion and a single upright side portion with first and second holes therein operative when assembled to mate with respective first and second holes of the corner portion on an implement. By having the first and second load transferring surfaces mate with the first and second load transferring pads of the corner portion and the corner tooth being secured to the corner portion by a biasing means, a tight connection is made between the corner tooth and the corner portion.

Corner guard system having a replaceable corner tooth

A corner tooth is useful, for example, on construction equipment buckets to protect the sidewalls from abrasive wear which normally results from continued contact with the ground. In order to protect the sidewall, others use elements secured directly to the sidewall or various forms of specialized teeth mounted on the corner. Many of these specialized teeth inhibit the tooth's ability to penetrate the ground. The present corner tooth provides the protection for the sidewall while still maintaining good strength and penetration. This is due to a single flat member being oriented vertically with respect to the normal working position of the tooth and a single reinforcement rib extending perpendicular to the flat member. Furthermore, since the tooth is symmetrical about the second plane and the rib is located along the second plane the tooth can be used on either corner. This eliminates the need to manufacture and stock an extra part of a different design. Furthermore, once the part is installed, it remains in the same location for its entire useful life thus eliminating down time to change the tooth from one corner to the other.

Corner tooth for a bucket

An earthmoving implement (10) has a sidewall member (12) and a cutting edge (14), and an adapter (26) is releasably secured thereto. The sidewall member (12) has a step (20), and the adapter (26) has a pair of outer and inner mounting portions (35, 36) defining a first slot (38) therebetween. The adapter (26) also has a bottom portion (40) connected to the outer mounting portion (35) and defining a second slot (42) with the inner mounting portion (36) so that the first slot (38) straddles the sidewall member (12) and the second slot (42) straddles the cutting edge (14). A projection (80) is defined on the adapter (26) forwardly of the first slot (38) for transmitting a portion of a working force on the adapter into the step (20), and a fastening device (28) releasably connects the adapter (26) to the implement (10) and transmits another portion of the working force into the sidewall member (12).

Releasable corner tooth assembly

A specialized load absorbing apparatus is disclosed for fastening tooth adaptors adjacent the cutting edge of an earthworking tool. The adaptor is especially useful with relatively sharp cutting edges wherein the edge itself cannot be used to absorb the load. The apparatus includes conical seats between the adaptor and the cutting edge and/or a specialized wear plate which locates below the cutting edge and absorbs some of the forces exerted on the adaptor.

Load absorbing means for cutting edge assembly

Tooth adapter for a cutting edge

Replaceable corner cutting edge

The scraper bowls of power earth movers have a support bar across the front on which a replaceable cutting blade is mounted. In the apparatus of the present invention the cutting blade is mounted for angular adjustment relative to the front of the bowl, so that the cutting edge of the blade may be disposed to form a precisely horizontal surface. This permits such a power earth mover to be used for final grading and cleanup work which often requires a completely horizontal cut on the grade. The present invention compensates for manufacturing tolerances which often cause the bowl to be supported at a slight angle to the horizontal.

Adjustable cutting edge assembly for a power earth mover

A loader bucket comprises a pair of laterally spaced end walls and a cutting edge secured forwardly on a bottom wall of the bucket, between the end walls. A corner tooth assembly is detachably mounted on each of the end walls, adjacent to the cutting edge, and comprises an adapter having a forwardly extending adapter portion and an earthworking tip detachably mounted on the adapter portion. The adapter further comprises outer and inner mounting portions straddling the end wall and secured thereto by a single bolt extending transversely therethrough. In a first embodiment of this invention, a pair of first force transmitting surfaces are formed rearwardly on the adapter portion to abut a flat forward edge of the end wall and a bevelled surface of the cutting edge, respectively. A pair of longitudinally spaced second force transmitting surfaces are formed on a bottom portion of the adapter, secured to the outer portion thereof, to abut the underside of the cutting edge. A third force transmitting surface is formed on an underside of the inner portion of the adapter to abut a bearing pad formed integrally on the end wall of the loader bucket. In a second embodiment of this invention, a single force transmitting surface formed on the adapter portion to abut a forward edge of the cutting edge and the adapter portion is maintained out of contact with respect to the forward edge of the end wall.

Quick change corner tooth assembly for loader buckets

A corner tooth assembly, for an earthmoving implement having an upright sidewall and a cutting edge disposed in laterally extending relation from the sidewall, includes a corner tooth adapter having a hollow rearward portion secured to a lower forward outside surface of the sidewall and a nose portion extending forwardly of the sidewall, and a replaceable wear tip mounted on the nose portion of the adapter protectingly beyond the implement so that loads on the tip during forward movement of the implement are transmitted through the adapter directly rearwardly to the sidewall without affecting the cutting edge.

Corner tooth assembly for an earthmoving implement having a hollow

In an earthmoving scraper, a pivotally adjustable router bit is provided on the leading edges of the bowl to fracture the soil ahead of both sides of the cutting edge of the scraper to protect the bowl sides from excessive wear. The bits are pivotally mounted on the side walls of the bowl and are shaped in such a way that the leading edge of each bit wears uniformly as the bit is advanced from one secured position on the bowl to the next.

Earth scraper with router bit

A one-piece cutting edge and tooth adapter assembly for operative attachment to the earth working surface of an earth moving device. The one-piece cutting edge and tooth adapter assemblage is provided in discretely removable modules having either singular or plural adapter means. A tooth is provided for readily replaceable mating connection to each adapter means. Upon wear of a particular earth working tooth or a particular cutting edge and an adapter module, only the particular worn component need be replaced and this is accomplished without disturbance of the other components.

One-piece replaceable cutting edge and tooth adapter with tooth

The invention is concerned with a unitary high strength earth working tooth useful with excavator buckets, scrapers, rippers and the like. The tooth is integrally formed and includes a proximal end for attachment to an earth working machine and a distal end for penetrating soil. The proximal end includes a generally isosceles trapezoidal upper portion, a generally isosceles trapezoidal lower portion, and a pair of generally isosceles trapezoidal sides, each side extending from an edge of said upper portion to an edge to said lower portion, a closure interconnecting the shorter bases of said upper portion, said lower portion and said two sides, and a pair of aligned holes, one through each of said sides generally on the bisecting axis thereof. The distal end includes a generally flat isosceles trapezoidal member extending at an obtuse angle from said lower portion with the larger base of said member coextensive with the shorter base of said lower portion, said member extending generally parallel to a plane defined by the bisecting axes of said sides. The tooth, when viewed from the side, includes a generally right triangularly shaped ridge upraised perpendicularly from the bisecting axis of said trapezoidal member and terminating at an acute angle short of the shorter base thereof, which shorter base comprises a soil penetrating portion of said distal end, the hypotenuse of said ridge extending from said acute angle towards and terminating at a point adjacent said closure, said ridge supportedly extending from said closure.

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Joliet, IL, United States of America

Gene R Klett