Caterpillar Inc.

Randy E Schoepke

Michael H Hinrichsen

James D McPhail

Richard Berg

Michael Hans Hinrichsen

An apparatus and method for preventing debris from accessing and wrapping around the axles of a vehicle, such as a landfill compactor, are disclosed. The apparatus may include a wheel having a rim from which radially extend a plurality of cleats or tips. A subset of tips may be provided circumferentially around a laterally inner edge of the wheel. A wheel guard may be mounted between adjacent pairs of tips of the subset. Each wheel guard may be welded to the rim and to the adjacent pairs of tips. Each wheel guard may be a unitary piece of metal, or could be provided in two or more segment so as to be adjustable and thus facilitate use on wheels of differing diameters, or with different tip spacing. The wheel guards and adjacent tips form a continuous barrier around the circumference of the wheel to prevent debris from accessing and wrapping around the axles of the compactor.

Apparatus and method for protecting axles from winding debris

A compactor wheel tip for a landfill or soil compactor comprises a bottom wall having a wheel engaging surface, a top wall having a ground engaging surface, oppositely disposed front and rear walls having concave surfaces, and oppositely disposed side walls. The ground engaging surface of the top wall may be generally planar and have a 'bow-tie'-shaped cross-section, or the top wall may define a pair of shoulders each extending inwardly from one of the side walls, and a rib extending between the shoulders and having a depth that is less than the depth of shoulders. The ground engaging surface may further define a pair of exterior pockets disposed on opposite sides of the rib and extending downwardly between the rib and corresponding portions of the front and rear walls.

Paddle style land fill compactor wheel tip

A compactor wheel tip assembly for a landfill or soil compactor comprises a base with a tip attached thereto. A base engaging surface of the tip and a tip engaging surface of the base face and abut when the tip is attached to the base. The tip and base engaging surfaces may have corresponding geometries so that the tip may be attached the base in either a forward and rearward traction position or a side-slop traction position. The tip may include pocket walls having concave surfaces, and a ground engaging surface of a top wall that may be generally planar with a 'bow-tie'-shaped cross-section or may define a pair of shoulders, a rib extending between the shoulders, and exterior pockets disposed on either side of the rib.

Land fill compactor wheel tip assembly

Wheel segment

This invention pertains generally to valve lift spacers that determine the travel distance of a valve member, such as movement between upper and lower seats. In the case of pressure switching valves, such as those used in the fuel injection industry, valve travel distance is often relatively small. Because of realistic machining tolerances, it is often difficult to mass produce valves that consistently exhibit comparable travel distances, especially when those distances are on the order of microns. The present invention addresses this issue by providing valve lift spacers with a variety of thicknesses in order to compensate for the inevitable variation that would otherwise be produced due to the various valve components having realistic geometrical tolerances. The valve lift spacer and a valve using the same finds a principal use in fast response pressure switching valves, such as those utilized in electro-hydraulic actuator portion of a fuel injector.

Growing community of inventors

Lacon, IL, United States of America

Randy E Schoepke