Caterpillar Inc.

Randolph C Brink

Donald J Waldman

The design and construction of past piston assemblies having a wrist pin bolted to a connecting rod had excessive structural components requiring more complex machining procedures and tooling. Additionally, the loading and bolting patterns allowed the wrist pin to flex about the central axis of the piston assembly causing ultimate failure of the design. The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a piston assembly utilizing a bifurcated connecting rod and a piston having a pair of outer legs and a central leg. The outer legs and the central leg contact a wrist pin in three locations substantially distributing the forces across the wrist pin uniformly. A connecting means centrally connects the piston assembly shortening the overall length of the piston assembly. This results in a simplified forging or casting process, a more easily machinable piston, and a higher reliability design with improved load capacity.

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Peoria, IL, United States of America

Randolph C Brink